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THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



THE BURNING OF 
CHELSEA 



BY 



WALTER MERRIAM PRATT 



WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS 




BOSTON 
SAMPSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1908 



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-jLiiiKARY of OON.SrtESS 
iwo uuiiieii risMici-i* 
JUL 2 ^^08 

i X 9 t 62- 

L cOH>f a. 



Copyright, 1908, 6y 
Sampson Publishing Company 



First impression, June, 1908 



Printed by The Sparrcll Print 
Boston, Massachusetts 



The author dedicates this hook to Captain 
James H. Smyth, Lieutenant Olin D. 
Dickerman, Lieutenant Harry J. Kane^ 
and the enlisted men of the Eighth Com- 
pany, Coast Artillery Corps, with whom he 
served in Chelsea on Provost Guard during 
the week following the fire. 



PREFACE 



This book is intended by its author to 
be a story of The Burning of Chelsea 
as he saw it, — a contribution to local 
history based on personal knowledge and 
observation. No one man saw, or could 
see, all the phases of the conflagration, but 
the writer saw more than most. He was 
actively engaged during the entire course 
of the fire in the saving of persons and 
property, and was able to closely observe 
the whole progress of the flames. He 
served as a volunteer fireman for many 
horn's and afterward on provost guard, 
being at work continuously for forty-eight 
hours without sleep. As he was thus 
present during the entire period of great- 
est stress, his narration consists of first- 
hand facts. 

It was thought advisable to add chap- 
ters on the history of Chelsea, and some 



PREFACE 



phases of the period immediately follow- 
ing the fire, for the information of those 
not familiar with the city, and also a 
chapter on the future of the city. 

The illustrations are from photographs, 
and the author's thanks for courteous 
permission to use them is due to Frank 
Roy Fraprie, Robert Buck Jeffers, of 
Chelsea, Mass., Leslie's Weekly, William 
J. McClintock, Frank Thompson, the 
Utica Saturday Globe, and Royal S. 
Wentworth. 

Mr. Jeffers is maker of the frontispiece, 
and pictures on pages 56, 78, and 102. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter I 
Historical Chelsea . . . . . 15 

Chapter II 
Statistics of the Fire . . . . . 31 

Chapter III 
The Start 39 

Chapter IV 
Beyond Control ..... 52 

Chapter V 
Under Control 72 

Chapter VI 
Night among the Ruins .... 75 

Chapter VII 
Day Dawns upon the Ruins ... 83 



CONTENTS 



Chapter VIII 
The Firemen 87 

Chapter IX 
The Militia 93 

Chapter X 
Expressions of Sympathy .... 104 

Chapter XI 
The Relief Work 109 

Chapter XII 
Chelsea's Future 134 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



View of the Burning City from Powderhorn 

Yiiw Frontispiece 

Opp. Page 

The BelHngham-Cary House 16 

The Pratt House, built about 1700 . • 
Broadway before the Fire, looking South from 

Bellingham 

Broadway, a few Weeks after the Fire, looking 

South from Bellingham 

Ruins of the Baptist Church and City Hall 
The Lynn Engine destroyed by the Flames 
Start of the Fire near the Everett Line . 
Responding to the First Alarm . . • 
Granite Block, Dynamited during the Fire 
A Boston Fire-boat fighting the Fire . . 
Brown Stone Houses Fared no Better than 

Wooden Tenements ^o 

Junction of Washington Avenue and Broad- 
way before the Fire 

Residence of Ex-Mayor Thomas Strahan be- 
fore and after the Fire 62/ 

Boston and Albany Railroad Bridge, with 
Wrecked East Boston Bridge and Burmng 
Oil Tanks in Background 68 



18/ 

22 - 

24 '- 

32 

34 

38 
42' 
48' 
56 



58 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Opp. Page 

The Fitz Public Library before and after the 

Fire 70 

Where the Fire was stopped on Sixth Street . 74 

Ruins of the Central Congregational Church . 78 

A Vast Expanse of Ruins 82 

The Highland School before and after the Fire 84 

Shurtleff Street before and after the Fire . . 86 

Chief Spencer during the Fire 88 

The Eighth Company, Coast Artillery, keeping 

back the Crowd in Winnisimmet Square . 94 

Troop A, First Squadron of Cavalry ... 96 

Granite Crumbled to Gravel under the Heat . 102 

The Court House, used as City Hall after the 

Fire 108 

The Bread Line 114 

Effect of Fire on Granite Walls and Curbing 120 

The Shurtleff School before and after the Fire 128 

Map showing Burned District 134 

County Road, in the Residential Section . . 136 

The Wentworth Residence, among the Places 

not Destroyed 140 

Residence of Ex-Mayor Pratt, in the Prattville 
District, One of the Many Attractive Places 

in Chelsea not Burned 144 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



CHAPTER I 

HISTORICAL CHELSEA 

Before relating the story of The Burn- 
ing OF Chelsea it seems that a sUght 
sketch of the history of the city may be 
appropriate. Thousands of people read, 
with mingled interest and horror, news- 
paper accomits of the burning of Chelsea, 
who had previously only heard of the city in 
a casual way, perhaps in connection with 
the unfair and time-worn expression, 
' ' Dead as Chelsea. ' ' Few people who have 
not made a study of the matter reahze 
how much Chelsea stands for in history. 
To quote from a speech made by the 
late historian, Judge Mellen Chamberlain, 
L.L.D., at the laying of the comer-stone 
of the Prattville Schoolhouse, the city 
is associated with more really ''first 

15 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

things" than any other city of this State 
or continent. 

The first settler, Samuel Maverick, 
landed on the shore of what are now the 
United States Naval Hospital grounds in 
1624. In 1625 he built a fortified house 
near the water^s edge, which, according to 
the historical tablet, erected near Chelsea 
Bridge, was the first house in the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony. Here Governor 
Winthrop was entertained in 1630. In 
1631 the first ferry in the country was 
established here, the landing being near 
the present pier on the government 
grounds, where the first county road in 
the colony, ending at Salem, began. 
There is a story to the effect that Mav- 
erick's house was attacked by the Indians, 
but being completely repulsed, they never 
attacked again. Maverick traded with 
the Indians, and in this way acquired 
some five thousand acres of land, com- 
prising what is now Chelsea, Revere, 
Winthrop, and Saugus, then known as 
Winnisimmet. 

16 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

In 1630 Noddle's Island, now East 
Boston, was sold to him. About 1632 
Maverick sold Winnisimmet to Richard 
Bellingham, afterward governor, after 
whom Mount Bellingham was named. 
Bellingham built the Gary house, which 
is still standing, and used it as a shooting 
lodge, his home being in Boston. Later 
it was bought by the Carys and greatly 
altered. Tradition says that British 
troops were quartered in the house and 
an officer committed suicide there. 
There is a secret chamber in the top of 
the house, reached only by a peculiar 
passage, which winds about the chimney 
from the cellar. Although the house is 
two hundred years old, it is still used 
as a dwelling, and fortunately escaped 
the fire. 

Until January 10, 1739, Chelsea was 
a part of Boston. On that date, by the 
terms of an act passed by the Great and 
General Coiu-t, that part of Boston 
known as Winnisimmet Village, Rumney 
Marsh, and Pullin's Pomt, including 
17 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

what is now known as Chelsea, Revere, 
Winthrop, and Saugus was, "in con- 
sideration that they had long since built 
a meeting-house and supported the same," 
set off as a town, to be known by the 
name of Chelsea. 

The first naval battle in the history 
of the United States occurred in Chelsea 
Creek on May 27, 1775. The conflict 
occurred between the Provincials and 
the British troops. Its outcome was 
that the armed schooner "Diana" was 
captured by the former and burned on 
the Chelsea shore. 

During the siege of Boston, in 1776, 
revolutionary troops under command of 
Colonel Gerrish were stationed in that 
part of Chelsea known as Prattville, and 
General George Washington on a tour 
of inspection took dinner at the Pratt 
homestead. This house was demolished 
in 1855. Its doorstep was built into 
the wall of Washington Park, where it 
may stUl be seen. The other old Pratt 
house which is still standing belonged 
18 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

to the same family. It is the second 
oldest house in Chelsea to-day, having 
been built about 1700. It was in this 
house that Increase Mather (president 
of Harvard College from 1684 to 1701) 
took refuge from the persecution of 
Governor Andros. 

In 1802 The Chelsea Bridge and 
Salem Turnpike Company received a 
charter, and during that year and the 
next built a toll bridge between Chelsea 
and Charlestown. Up to this time the 
only way to reach Boston with a loaded 
team was through Maiden, Medford, 
Cambridge, Roxbury, and over Boston 
Neck, the trip usually requiring a whole 
day. 

On February 28, 1828, the State ceded 
to the General Government the property 
now used for the Naval and Marine 
hospitals. 

In 1831 an act was passed giving 
Boston the exclusive control of county 
buildings and relieving Chelsea from all 
expense attached to them. If at any 

19 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

time Chelsea should wish to be set off 
to another county, Boston has no power 
to appear in opposition. 

In 1831 Francis B. Fay and others, 
acting for a proposed ferry company, 
purchased of Thomas Williams his farm 
and ferry for the sum of $22,500. The 
company, which still exists, was incor- 
porated in 1833. 

In 1832 the first store in the village 
was built at the corner of Broadway and 
Everett Avenue, by John Low, and he 
was ridiculed by his friends for locating 
a store so far out of the way, as they 
said there would be few or no dwellings 
near him for twenty years. In this 
store were kept dry goods, groceries, 
medicine, the post-office, and baiting for 
horses. This being the only public place 
in the viUage, it was a general resort for 
the few early inhabitants, and records 
show that many pleasant evenings were 
spent there by Major Chase, Squire 
Knapp, Samuel Batchelder, Thomas 
Pratt, Dr. Stedman, Colonel Fay, Joseph 
20 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

and Charles Hanscom, and the ''Ferry 
hands." 

The first postmaster was Rev. Hora- 
tio Alger, followed by Abel Bowen and 
then Benjamin Dodge. 

In 1835 the town house was built. 
The town appropriated $3000. The 
building committee expended $3036.33, 
and for this excess ''asked the indulgence 
of the town." 

The first fire in Chelsea of which there 
is any record occurred in 1834, in Winni- 
sinmaet Square. There was no engine 
in Chelsea at the time, but No. 15 came 
over from Boston. After this fire the 
town bought an engine, and in 1835 the 
original Chelsea No. 1 was bought, and 
a house built for it in the square. In 
1837 a second engine was bought for 
$150, and a company organized under the 
name Volimteers No. 2, with quarters on 
Park Street. 

On February 22, 1841, a narrow strip 
of land extending from Maiden, Melrose, 
and well into Wakefield, known as the 
21 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Panhandle, was set off to the town of 
Saugus. 

On March 19, 1846, North Chelsea, 
now Revere and Winthrop, was set off, 
reducing the town to its present size, 
which is about two and one quarter 
square miles or fourteen hundred and 
forty-one acres. 

In February, 1849, the Grand Junc- 
tion Railroad was granted a charter to 
run from East Boston through Chelsea 
to Boston, thus giving Chelsea railroad 
connection with the outside world. 

In February, 1857, as the population 
was in excess of twelve thousand, the 
town petitioned the Legislature for a 
city charter, and on March 13 it was 
granted. On March 23 the charter was 
presented to the town and accepted by 
a vote of seven hundred and thirty-three 
to one hundred and seven. In the same 
year the Boston and Chelsea Horse Rail- 
road received a charter to run from 
Revere along Broadway to Boston, and 
at the same time the Winnisimmet Rail- 
22 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



road got a charter to run from Pratt- 
ville through Washington Avenue, Park 
and Winnisimmet streets, to and across 
the ferry. 

When the Civil War broke out Chel- 
sea was among the first to send men to 
the front, and during the war over one 
thousand men were forwarded. 

Hon. Frank B. Fay, who was mayor 
at the time, was made chief of the United 
States Sanitary Commission, and spent 
nearly two years at the front. 

On June 5, 1868, tolls were abohshed 
on Chelsea Bridge and the Salem Turn- 
pike, and they were made free public 
highways. 

Many famous people in all walks of 
life, both living and dead, came origi- 
nally from or live at present in the city of 
Chelsea. 

Among them are Benjamin P. Shil- 
laber, better known in the hterary world 
as Mrs. Partington; Lieutenant William 
B. Cushing, who became famous by his 
heroic work in blowing up the '^Albe- 
23 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

marie" during the Civil War; Mellen 
Chamberlain, L.L.D. and L.L.B., law- 
yer, judge, statesman, and historian; 
Hon. Frank B. Fay, chief of the United 
States Sanitary Commission during the 
Civil War; Hon. Rufus S. Frost, congress- 
man and ex-president of the National 
Association of Woolen Manufacturers; 
John F. Low, inventor of the famous 
Low Art Tiles; Herman Atkins MacNeU, 
the sculptor; Rear Admiral John E. 
PUlsbury, United States Navy, assistant 
chief of the Bureau of Navigation; Cap- 
tain J. B. Briggs, United States Navy; 
Miss Ellen M. Stone, the famous mission- 
ary; Congressman Ernest W. Roberts ; 
Ex-Governor John L. Bates; David and 
Levi Slade, known by their famous spices; 
Henry Mitchell, the foremost engraver in 
this country; Fred L. Cuttuig, late insur- 
ance commissioner of Massachusetts ; 
Colonel William Grantman of the Civil 
War; Mr. Frank Roy Fraprie, the author; 
Hendricks A. Hallet, the well-known 
artist; Jabez K. Montgomery, the ship 

24 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

builder; Samuel Orcutt, inventor of the 
first rapid printing-press ever patented in 
the United States; Hon. Eustis C. Fitz, 
trustee of Brown and Wellesley colleges 
and ex-president of the Boston Board of 
Trade; William E. McClintock, chair- 
man of the Massachusetts State High- 
way Commission; Dr. William G. 
Wheeler, associated with Dr. Oliver 
Wendell Holmes as examining physi- 
cian for the Federal Government during 
the war; Mr. Joseph Lincoln, the author; 
Miss Laura Lee, the artist; Thomas and 
William Martin, manufacturers and ex- 
porters of elastic webbing; Miss Helen 
Fitz, president of the National Daughters 
of the American Revolution. There is 
practically no city of any size in the 
United States that does not contain for- 
mer Chelsea people. 

In Chelsea there are located many 
manufacturing concerns, famous not only 
locally but all over America, and in many 
cases throughout the civilized world. 
Among them are The Magee Furnace 

25 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Company; George D. Emery, the largest 
mahogany works in the United States, 
which maintains a Hne of steamers be- 
tween Chelsea and South American ports; 
The Revere Rubber Company; the Low 
Art Tile Works; the D. & L. Slade Com- 
pany, spices ; Thomas Strahan& Company, 
whose wall paper is considered the finest 
made in America; T. Martin & Brothers, 
elastic fiber; Atwood & McManus, box 
manufacturers; and many large shoe 
factories. 

There are three prominent hills in 
Chelsea, Mount Bellingham, already men- 
tioned, which was burned over in the 
recent fire; Sagamore Hill in Prattville, 
where lived the tribe of Sagamore In- 
dians, and where up to recent years it 
was a common thing for Indian graves 
and relics to be found, better known as 
Mount Washington, after the visit of 
General George Washington; and Pow- 
derhorn Hill, which tradition says was 
once sold for a horn of powder. The top 
of this hill, which was purchased by the 
26 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

city in 1897, is set aside to be enjoyed 
forever as a public park. From the top 
of this hill during the Revolution signals 
were made to the people in Roxbury 
and Cambridge, giving the news of any 
movements of the British army in Bos- 
ton. During the winter of 1775-6 three 
companies of Colonial troops had their 
quarters on the south side of this hill. 

In addition to the park on Powder- 
horn Hill, Chelsea has Union Park in the 
heart of the city, adjoined by two smaller 
parks at the railroad station, Washington 
Park in Prattville, and two playgrounds, 
one in the Highland district, and the 
other in the extreme western end and ad- 
joining the boulevard. The latter con- 
tains a quarter-mile cinder track, a foot- 
ball field, and two baseball diamonds. 
The Revere Beach Parkway passes 
through the northern end of Chelsea and 
adds twenty-one and one fifth acres of 
boulevard and parks to its open spaces. 
It connects the city directly with the 
beautiful Middlesex Fells Reservation of 
27 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

eighteen hundred and eighty-five acres, 
and the wonderful five-mile Ocean 
Drive just completed from Winthrop to 
Revere and Lynn. 

Chelsea is the easiest to reach of all the 
suburbs of Boston, being connected with 
it by the Winnisimmet Ferry, the Boston 
Elevated by the East Boston Tunnel, 
the Boston and Northern Electric line, 
and the Boston and Maine Railroad. 
From Chelsea Square to ScoUay Square, 
in Boston, the running time is but thir- 
teen minutes. Chelsea has the same 
postal service as Boston. It has the ad- 
vantage of the Metropolitan water sys- 
tem and the Metropolitan sewerage sys- 
tem, both acknowledged unexcelled. Its 
schools are considered by the best col- 
leges as of very high standing, and up to 
April 12, 1908, it had many miles of 
beautiful shaded streets and many nat- 
ural advantages over other cities. 

Why is it, then, that during the few 
years previous to the fire Chelsea had 
lost so many desirable citizens? Why 
28 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

was it that in less than fifty years it had 
entirely lost its standing as the most 
aristocratic suburb of Boston, a place 
where people came to spend their sum- 
mers, as they go to-day to Clifton, Mag- 
nolia, and Manchester, with a fashionable 
hotel on Powderhorn Hill, now the ''Sol- 
diers' Home," and beautiful country places 
leading down to the water along Margi- 
nal Street? How was it possible for a 
city of wealth, with a population of ten to 
fifteen thousand, to change in so short a 
time to a business and manufacturing 
community with a population of forty 
thousand, including ten thousand 
Hebrews? 

This is what happened. In 1846 North 
Chelsea was set off, leaving an area of only 
two and one fourth square miles, in- 
cluding the United States Naval and 
Marine Hospital grounds and the United 
States Magazine Reservation. As the 
population increased business crowded 
the people back, until those who wished 
large estates migrated one by one to 
29 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Brookline, Newton, Maiden, and other 
places. The Winnisinunet Ferry Com- 
pany reduced its fare to three cents, and 
the crowded North End of Boston over- 
flowed into Chelsea. Fire restrictions 
were placed on North End property in 
Boston and more Hebrews landed in 
Chelsea and set up their rag shops. It 
was gradual, — so gradual that old resi- 
dents did not realize the number that 
were locating in the city. The water 
front properties were too valuable to he 
idle, and large manufacturers secured 
them and located their factories there. 
With them naturally came a poorer class, 
and every two that came drove one old 
resident away. Young people married 
and moved away and the old people 
gradually died. This is why on April 12 
this change had taken place, and Chelsea 
had become the most thickly populated 
city in the United States in proportion 
to its size, having forty thousand popu- 
lation in less than two square miles. 



30 



CHAPTER II 

STATISTICS OF THE FIRE 

Few people realize the size of the 
Chelsea fire from the newspaper accounts. 
In no cases were they exaggerated, while 
accounts in the New York and Western 
papers invariably underestimated the 
size of the burned district. On the 
authority of the ''Fireman's Herald" of 
New York it was the third largest fire in 
point of area in the history of this coun- 
try. The San Francisco fire burned over 
twenty-seven hundred acres, the Chicago 
fire twenty-one hundred and twenty-four 
acres, the Chelsea fire four hundred and 
ninety-two acres, and the Portland, Me., 
fire four hundred acres. The great Bos- 
ton conflagration of 1872 covered only 
sixty-five acres. 

31 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The Chelsea fire swept the center of the 
city, covering a space a mile and a half 
long and three quarters of a mile wide. 
It destroyed practically all the business 
section, most of the municipal buildings, 
and twenty-eight hundred and twenty- two 
other buildings, making seventeen thou- 
sand four hundred and fifty people home- 
less. 

It burned thirteen churches, eight 
schools, twenty-three oil tanks, the 
City Hall, the Frost Hospital, the 
Board of Health building, the Young 
Men's Christian Association, the United 
States Post-office, four newspaper plants, 
the Aiasonic Temple, three fine bank 
buildings, two fire stations, and over 
three thousand shade trees, and ruined 
miles of granite curbing. There were 
over seven hundred business firms and 
professional men burned out. They in- 
cluded fifty grocery stores, twenty-nine 
barber shops, twenty-eight doctors, 
twenty-eight tailors and dressmakers, 
twenty-one real estate offices, seventeen 

32 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

insurance offices, thirteen apothecaries, 
and twelve bakers. 

The fire spread so rapidly that three 
engines were caught in its path and de- 
stroyed, one from Lynn and two from 
Boston. A pecuUar coincidence is that 
one of the Boston engines was ''Big 
15," bearing the same number as the 
engine which in 1834 came across the 
river and helped Chelsea put out its first 
fire. The insurance loss was $8,846,879, 
according to the figures given in the 
speech of President Burchell at the 
annual convention of the underwriters, 
on May 14, 1908. The taxable value 
of the property destroyed is estimated 
as $12,450,000 and other personal prop- 
erty brought the loss close to $20,000,000. 

The insurance loss was well divided, 
although the various companies located 
in Hartford, Conn., lost in the vicinity 
of $1,000,000. The Royal of England 
was the heaviest single loser, with a loss 
roughly estimated at $500,000. The 
Phoenix and Hartford Home offices came 
33 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

next, with losses figured at $250,000 
each. The losses in addition to those 
mentioned above were as follows: — 

^tna, Hartford $165,000 

American, New Jersey 60,000 

American Central, St. Louis. . . 200,000 

American Lloyds, New York . . . 4,000 

Agricultural, New York 60,000 

Alliance, London 35,000 

AUiance, Pennsylvania 2,500 

Albany, New York 7,500 

Ben Franklin, Pennsylvania. . . . 5,500 

Boston 90,000 

Buffalo-German, New York .... 15,000 

Cambridge Mutual 30,000 

Caledonian, Scotland 50,000 

Capital, New Hampshire 10,000 

Camden, New Jersey 15,000 

Citizens, Missouri 27,000 

Colonial, New York 20,000 

Concordia, Wisconsin 32,500 

Connecticut 50,000 

County, Pennsylvania 13,000 

Delaware 35,000 

34 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Dixie, North Carolina $ 8,000 

Dutchess, New York 6,000 

Eastern, New York 4,000 

Empire City, New York 5,000 

Fire Association, Pennsylvania. . 80,000 

Firemen's, New Jersey 60,000 

German- Alliance, New York . . . 30,000 

Girard, Pennsylvania 12,000 

Granite State, New Hampshire. 15,000 

Hanover, New York 175,000 

Hambm-g Bremen, Germany. . . 40,000 

Holyoke Mutual, Holyoke 150,000 

India Mutual, Boston 2,500 

Insurance Co. of North America, 

Pennsylvania 185,000 

Jefferson, Pennsylvania 35,000 

Law Union and Crown, England 1,000 

Liverpool & London & Globe. . . 100,000 

London & Lancashire Co 94,700 

London Assurance Corporation. 85,000 

Mechanics, Pennsylvania 3,000 

Mercantile Fire and Marine .... 15,000 

Merchants & Farmers Mutual . . 30,000 

Middlesex Mutual, Concord .... 60,000 

Milwaukee Mechanics, Wisconsin 12,000 
35 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Nassau, New York. $15,000 

National, Connecticut 60,000 

National, Allegheny 4,000 

National, Pennsylvania 2,000 

National Union, Pennsylvania. . 83,000 

New Brunswick, New Jersey. . . 10,000 

New York Underwriters 25,000 

Niagara, New York 115,000 

North River, New York 65,000 

North British, New York 10,000 

Norwich Union, England 300,000 

Old Colony, Boston 5,000 

Orient, Connecticut 95,750 

Palatine, London 95,000 

Pennsylvania 96,000 

Phenix, New York 200,000 

Philadelphia Underwriters 35,000 

Providence-Washington, Rhode 

Island 30,000 

Queen, New York 95,000 

Richmond, New York 1,600 

Royal Exchange, England 35,000 

Scottish Union and National. . . 50,000 

Security, New York 20,000 

Southern, Louisiana 5,000 

36 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



St. Paul Fire and Marine, Min- 
nesota $12,000 

Spring Garden, Pennsylvania. . . 50,000 

State, Pennsylvania 7,000 

Sun, London 125,000 

Svea, Sweden 25,000 

Union, Pennsylvania 25,000 

Western, Pennsylvania 10,000 

A relief fund was raised through 
Messrs. Lee, Higginson & Company of 
Boston, amounting at this writing to 
over $350,000. The contributions to 
this fund were almost entirely from citi- 
zens of Massachusetts, as outside help 
was not asked for. They came from all 
classes of the community, and were sent 
in with the spontaneity and promptness 
with which the people of Massachusetts 
always respond to an appeal for merited 

aid. 

The fire traveled more rapidly than 

any other of the large fires. It reached 

its most distant point inside of five hours, 

and inside of ten hours all of the build- 

37 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

ings burned were totally destroyed. How 
many persons lost their lives in the fire 
will probably never be known. Eighteen 
bodies were recovered, and it is safe to 
estimate that as many more were en- 
tirely bm'ned. Over three hundred in- 
jured were treated at the United States 
Naval, United States Marine, and the 
Massachusetts Soldiers' Home hospitals. 
The Metropolitan Water Commission 
records show that forty million gallons 
of water were used in Chelsea on April 12, 
instead of an average consumption of 
3,000,583, the cost of extinguishing the 
fire in water alone being $1600. 



38 



CHAPTER III 

THE START 

The fire started a little before eleven 
on Sunday morning, April 12, 1908. Its 
origin will probably never be positively 
known. The most plausible theory, how- 
ever, is that the roof of a building of 
the Boston Blacking Company, which is 
located just off Summer Street, close to 
the Everett line, in the extreme western 
part of the city, caught fire from a burn- 
ing pile of rags on the dump to the 
windward. At all events, the flames were 
first seen just before eleven o'clock hck- 
ing up this inflammable building with 
its contents of oil, and sending a shower 
of sparks blown by a forty-mile gale 
towards the heart of the city, and an 
alarm was at once sent in. 

39 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Immediately upon his arrival Fire 
Chief Spencer ordered a second alarm 
sounded as a matter of precaution, owing 
to the high wind. The firemen did good 
work and soon had the initial blaze well 
in check, as is shown by the fact that 
the remaining buildings of this company 
close by were saved. 

Soon after the second alarm was 
sounded the firemen and spectators were 
astonished to see the three-story rag- 
shop of T. Lewitzky & Son, fully two blocks 
away, burst into flames. Apparatus to 
successfully fight its burning was not 
available. It was this fire that doomed 
Chelsea, for sparks from it started fires 
in several directions. 

Opposite Lewitzky's factory was the 
tar paper factory of Chapin & Sawdin. 
The fierce heat from the tar paper drove 
the firemen back. A shed containing 
a large quantity of gasoline near by soon 
caught fire and blew up, just after a man, 
who was trying to save it, was ordered 
off by the police. This explosion set 
40 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

fire to houses in the vicinity, which were 
principally of old-fashioned wooden con- 
struction, and allowed the fire to get such 
impetus that it spread out diagonally 
across the wind like a fan. When it 
reached Everett Avenue on the north 
and set fire to Justin S. Perkins' hay 
shed it looked as if nothing could save 
the Standard Oil Station, not over two 
hundred feet to the windward. '^Cy" 
Coben was showing his nerve by sticking 
to his plant, but it was to the Maiden 
firemen that Chelsea people are indebted 
for the saving of the northern section 
of the city. They arrived just in the 
nick of time and without thought of 
their personal safety, or of the awful 
result if the thousands of gallons of 
naphtha blew up, stuck by and saved 
the building. 

If this plant had burned the exploding 
oil would have set fire to the great building 
of the Eastern Storage Company across 
the railroad track, and nothing could have 
prevented it making a clean sweep of 
41 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Caryrille, increasing the burned area 
by at least one hundred acres. 

As it was, the fire did not cross the 
tracks until an hour later, and then 
there was enough apparatus to extin- 
guish it. After once getting hold of 
the little buildings on Maple Street, the 
flames almost simultaneously laid re- 
lentless hold of wooden buildings on all 
the surrounding streets. It raced down 
Summer, West Third, and Elm streets to 
Arlington Street, burning everything on 
Spruce Street and Everett Avenue. 

Although it took but a short time for 
the fire to reach and burn the city stables, 
through the energy of City Engineer 
O'Brion all of the horses, carts, harnesses, 
tools, etc., were saved, which was for- 
tunate, as it enabled the city to set 
large numbers of unemployed to work 
the next day cleaning the streets. 

Before this time assistance had been 
asked of Boston, Everett, Revere, Lynn, 
Winthrop, Cambridge, Maiden, Medford, 
and Melrose, and the engines soon began 

42 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

to arrive; but from the moment the 
fire crossed Arhngton Street there was 
no formidable stand made against it, as 
it spread so rapidly under the impulse 
of the gale and stretched out over so 
long a front, backed by acres of hirid 
flames. 

Not till it actually passed Arlington 
Street did people have any apprehension 
that it would not be stopped at this line, 
where the houses were of substantial 
brick construction. Ash Street, next to 
Arhngton, was soon blazing and spread- 
ing the fire towards the railroad track in 
one direction, and Second Street in the 
other. The people on Walnut Street, 
next beyond, began moving out, and soon 
Union Park, near by, was filled with 
household goods. Women with babies in 
their arms stood huddled in the smoke, 
old men stood guard over the few things 
they had saved, and crying children 
hunted in vain for their parents. All 
the section about Walnut Street was in- 
habited by poor people with large fam- 

43 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

ilies; Jews predominated, but all nations 
were represented. Many could not speak 
English, and panic seized all. 

It seems as if every one tried first to 
save a mattress, which would become 
ignited before it was carried a block, and 
add to the volxmie of the flames. The 
yards and open spaces were strewn with 
old bedding and other inflammable ma- 
terial, which assisted in spreading the 
fire. Trunks and other heavy things 
were dropped from upper windows, 
regardless of those beneath. In some 
cases men and women fought as to 
what they would save, while their houses 
burned. One man loaded a team with 
old junk; some women cried and refused 
to look at the flames, others were hys- 
terical and looked and laughed. Many 
Jewish women carried live hens in their 
arms. All fled towards the park, but 
this haven of refuge was only temporary, 
for soon the suffocating smoke drove 
them out, and a few minutes later the 
flames destroyed most of the property 
44 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



laboriously removed from the houses. 
From here people dragging little ones 
or some article of furniture made for 
the railroad station, with the flames 
in close pursuit. 

While the human beings were having 
such a hard time of it, dogs and cats were 
also having their sufferings. Looking 
out into Walnut Street one dog was seen, 
that had once been black, rushing madly 
about; its hide had been smged to a 
crisp, and when last seen it was headed 
right into the flames. On many streets 
dogs, cats, and hens were found after the 
fire, burned to death, and many horses 
also perished, as more would have, but 
for heroic work. In one instance Frank 
W. Wentworth, with some help, saved 
nineteen horses from a burning building 
by covering their eyes with blankets. 

Huntington Smith of the Animal Res- 
cue League estimates that as many as 
two thousand cats were burned to death. 
He says that these figures are conserv- 
ative, and gives as the reason their 
45 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

devotion to their homes; dogs, on the 
other hand, are more devoted to their 
masters, whom they followed, and for 
this reason very few perished. 

From Walnut Street the fire leaped 
across Fifth and entered the windows of 
the new Jewish synagogue and literally 
lapped it up, and then hurled itself 
against the imposing brick walls of the 
Central Congregational Church at the 
corner of Fifth and Walnut streets. 
This church is one of the largest in the 
city, yet the flames took but a few mo- 
ments to go from the basement up 
through the immense auditorium into 
the tower. While these buildings were 
burning the fire had destroyed on the 
other side of the city and at intermediate 
places the African Methodist Church, 
two Jewish synagogues, one on Walnut 
Street and one on Fourth Street, the 
Williams School, the Universalist Church 
and the Polish Church on Chestnut 
Street, and was headed straight for 
Broadway. 

46 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The Universalis t Church caught first 
in the steeple, as did most of the churches. 
It burned very slowly, but finally the 
great golden cross fell with a crash into 
Fourth Street. After this the pastor, 
Rev. R. Perry Bush, went in by a back 
way and up into the pulpit to take a last 
look at the familiar scene which was so 
dear to him. In a lecture which he after- 
wards gave he described his feelings very 
dramatically, and said that he stood in 
the pulpit until the church was filled 
with smoke and the flames broke through 
the big stained glass window, then say- 
ing, ^'Good-by, dear old church," he 
went as he came. 

The deacons had saved the communion 
service and had loaded a team with other 
church property, including valuable 
books and documents. On top of these 
they piled many pew cushions, — a fatal 
error. To quote Dr. Bush, ''Do not ever 
try to save cushions under such condi- 
tions; if we hadn't tried to, we would 
have our books and papers to-day." 
47 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The cushions caught fire before they had 
been taken two blocks and were instru- 
mental in setting fire to several wooden 
houses in the vicinity of Chestnut Street 
and Washington Avenue. 

Chestnut Street was, until a few years 
ago, one of the best streets in the city, 
and parts of it were still considered very 
nice. Among the prominent people still 
living on the street was Dr. J. B. Fen- 
wick, whose wife lost her life in the fire, 
together with her niece, Mrs. Walter C. 
Barnes, of New York, and Elvina Boyn, 
Mrs. Fenwick's maid. Mrs. Fenwick was 
prominent in Chelsea, being a member of 
the School Board and an active member 
of the Woman's Club. 

It is not known how the women met 
their death, but it is believed they left 
the house by the rear door, as the street 
in front was thick with smoke and flying 
fire brands. They may have first turned 
up Cherry Street, a narrow street which 
ran past the rear of their house, and been 
stopped by the falling tower of the Polish 
48 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Church. This would have caused them 
to return towards Fourth Street. At 
about this time Granite Block on Broad- 
way, directly back of which their bodies 
were found, was dynamited in an attempt 
to stop the conflagration, and the women 
probably took shelter in the porch of the 
building where their bodies were found, 
and were overcome by smoke. 

Dr. George Fenwick, the son, has told 
friends that the last he saw of them was 
on the second floor of his home. As he 
was going to his room on the third floor 
Mrs. Barnes stopped him and handed 
him a wet towel to put over his face. The 
house had not yet caught fire, but the 
windows were cracked and broken by the 
heat from the fires across the street, and 
the building was full of smoke. He says 
he was not in his room over five minutes 
collecting his valuables. When he re- 
turned downstairs the women had left, 
and after making sure of this fact he 
made a dash down the street to the fire 
lines. Here he met his father, who had pre- 
49 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

viously gone out with things of value 
and was not allowed to return. As the 
women left before young Dr. Fenwick, 
both men supposed them safe, and get- 
ting out their automobile, which was at 
a garage, helped others save property. 
The bodies were not found for four days. 
On Chestnut Street, not far from the 
Fenwicks, lived Miss Ellen M. Stone, the 
missionary, who a few years before was 
captured by Macedonian brigands and 
held for a large ransom. People from 
aU over this country contributed. Her 
home was filled with priceless souvenirs 
and a great many valuable books. Miss 
Stone was away from home over Sunday, 
and her servants had been given a hoU- 
day. Her brother, knowing that she 
was out of town, secured a horse and 
express wagon and drove to the house to 
save whatever might be possible. The 
doors, of course, were locked, and while 
he was battering one in the structure 
caught fire. When the door finally 
3delded the interior was all ablaze, and 
50 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Mr. Stone had to flee without saving a 
thing. 

Captain Frederick M. Whiting of the 
Eleventh Company, Coast Artillery 
Corps, also lived on Chestnut Street. 
When his company was ordered out, he 
went with it. When the fire reached his 
home, his brother gathered some valua- 
bles into a trunk and removed them to 
the Armory for safe keeping, but later 
the Armory burned and they were lost. 

Dr. J. M. Putnam was another resi- 
dent of Chestnut Street, and was fortu- 
nate enough to save a few things with 
the aid of his son. Dr. Ralph Putnam, 
who came over from Winchester. 



51 



CHAPTER IV 

BEYOND CONTROL 

Every one seemed to feel sure that 
the fire would be stopped at Broadway, 
as the buildings on this street were sub- 
stantial structures built of stone and 
brick, and no one even then judged 
rightly the havoc which must ensue 
before the fury would abate. 

The local militia (the Fifth Company, 
Coast Artillery Corps) had been sum- 
moned, and the militiamen had donned 
their service uniforms and overcoats, 
leaving in their lockers, in security as 
they supposed, their civilian clothes, 
their watches, and pocket money. 
Hardly had they been assigned to their 
posts before Broadway was threatened, 
and soon their new $100,000 Armory 
52 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

became a volcano of flame as the ele- 
ment of destruction spread on. 

It first reached Broadway between 
Third and Fourth streets. Here a heavy- 
battery of engines was assembled to 
prevent its crossing, but the efforts of 
man and the floods of water were of 
no avail; the fire was beyond himian 
control. 

Up to now the flames had rushed 
through the foreign tenement district, 
but when it passed Chestnut Street it 
entered the business center. Before the 
fire had even reached Chestnut and Fifth 
streets awnings in Bassett Square, two 
and three blocks away, caught fire. The 
fire reached Bellingham Station about 
two o'clock. The sight from here, look- 
ing down Broadway and Hawthorne 
Street, was beyond description. The 
fire fairly lay across the streets in a 
cyclonic whirl of flame. 

All at once out of Hawthorne Street 
shot an engine, as if coming out of a 
cannon. The driver was almost doubled 
53 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

up and the horses were going at a two- 
twenty clip; where they came from or 
how they ever got out of that furnace 
aUve is a mystery. 

The new six story brick Young Men's 
Christian Association building caught 
first in the upper story and then all over; 
hose was burned at this point as fast as 
it was laid. An electric car of the Boston 
and Northern Railroad which had been 
stopped on Broadway, just below Belling- 
ham, by the shutting off of the power, 
was pushed up the street and over the 
bridge to safety by fully a hundred men. 

Beyond Broadway lay blocks of sub- 
stantial residences. The flames were 
gnawing up the structures on Haw- 
thorne Street, and the Unitarian Church 
and Newspaper Row on Fourth Street 
were quickly burned. The fury of the 
spreading flames was indescribable. 
There would be no sign of fire in a build- 
ing, when all at once it would seem to 
fairly burst into flames and simply melt 
away. One large double house, which 

54 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

was timed, took just eight minutes to 
burn from the moment the flames were 
j&rst seen until the building was a mass 
of ruins in the cellar. 

All this time people were fleeing from 
the fire, many moving things to what 
they considered a place of safety, only 
to be obliged to move them again and 
eventually have them burned. Many 
people who lived east of Broadway went 
out to see the fire before it had crossed 
that thoroughfare, only to return and 
find their homes either on fire or already 
destroyed. No one seemed to realize 
how fast the fire was traveling, except 
those who fought it. If people had 
heeded the first warnings of the soldiers 
and the police, many could have saved 
something, but they waited, not wishing 
to appear timid, and afraid of ridicule 
if they started to move too soon. In 
the face of the great battle they had to 
fight, firemen and police officers could 
not give heed to the frantic appeals of 
women to save furniture. 
55 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Many people, when they reaUzed that 
they had lost everything, threw them- 
selves in the street and cried aloud in 
their suffering. It was no uncommon 
sight to see white-faced women walking 
aimlessly along the street, heedless of 
where they were going, yet carrying a 
frying pan or tin dipper. One man 
rushed into his house, at the risk of his 
own life, to save the family cat. After 
carrying it a block the cat scratched 
itself free and dashed back into its burn- 
ing home. Hundreds of people saved 
canary birds, and one woman came along 
the street with a statue, which had no 
head or feet, under one arm, and a bird 
cage with a cat in it under the other. 
When asked why she was saving the 
broken statue she looked at it in a dazed 
sort of a way and threw it away in dis- 
gust, and then wonderingly inquired how 
her bird had got out of the cage, never 
realizing that the cat had eaten it. One 
woman, remembering that she had left 
a pocket-book containing $17 on her 
56 




A BOSTON FIRE BOAT FIGHTING THE FIRE 




COPYBIGHT. JUDGE CO.. 1908 

STONE HOUSES FAKED NO BETTER THAN WOODEN TENEMENTS 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



dining-room table, rushed back into her 
home and grabbed up what she thought 
was her pocket-book, but when she had 
gotten several blocks away she found 
that in her excitement she had taken 
a piece of cut glass instead, and it was 
then too late to return. Another woman 
was ordered out of her house by a militia- 
man, but would not go until she had first 
filled her teakettle with water. After- 
ward she couldn't explain why her- 
self. Many people went temporarily in- 
sane. On the Washington Avenue bridge 
one man stood for hours making appeals 
for volunteers to fight the fire; his coat 
was off and his hair was mussed. People 
paid no heed to his frantic gestures, but 
he probably imagined he was saving the 
city. Another man committed suicide 
by shooting himself near Union Park. 
Some lost the power of speech, but under 
the circumstances the number of minds 
affected was small. 

One woman lugged a great marble 
clock under one arm and a dog under 
57 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

the other for three quarters of a mile. 
The dog couldn't lay down for three days, 
she had held hun so tight. Many people 
saved things of little value and left 
things impossible to replace. One man 
carried twenty-two pieces of cut glass 
loose and unpacked, tied up in a sheet 
and thrown over his shoulder, for over 
a mile, through all the excitement, and 
not one piece was smashed. 

A fireman entered Freeman's drug 
store while it was burning and taking 
the reflection of himself in the long 
mirror at the end of the store for another 
fireman walked through the glass. 

Two men trying to save an upright 
piano gave it up when the cloth in the 
back caught fire. One opened the lid 
and played "There'll be a hot time in 
the old town to-night," while the build- 
ings all about him burned. 

Fate was especially kind to Eli C. Bliss, 
who lived in what is called Chestnut 
Street Pocket, — a short blind end of 
Chestnut Street beyond Washington Ave- 

58 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

nue, ending in a steep embankment at 
the railroad tracks. The fire approached 
so rapidly that escape was impossible, 
except by way of the embankment. Just 
as Mr. Bliss was leaving his attractive 
home a passing freight train stopped 
directly at the end of the street, and the 
train crew rushed up the bank and 
announced that they had two empty box 
cars. Working like demons nearly every- 
thing in the house of any value, including 
a grand piano, a lot of old mahogany 
furniture, books, and paintings, was piled 
into the cars, until they were nearly full. 
The train then pulled out just as the house 
commenced to burn, none too soon, as 
the cars were smoking themselves. Mr. 
Bliss later located his furniture in Lynn, 
after it had landed in Portland and been 
shipped back. 

The railroad tracks which passed 
through this part of the city have always 
been considered an eyesore and have 
been the cause of much regret to many 
residents. There is not a resident of 
59 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Chelsea to-day, however, who is not glad 
of their presence, as they were the means 
of saving the northern part of the city, 
the best residential section. The fire 
burned only a single building north of 
the tracks. 

Not far from the Bliss estate lived the 
Millers. Miss Edith Miller was to be 
married in a few days, but so hurriedly 
were they obliged to leave that not even 
her wedding dress was saved, and all her 
beautiful presents and trousseau were 
lost. 

When the fire started up Mount Bell- 
ingham, hurried calls were made for 
ambulances to take the patients out of 
the Frost Hospital. There were twenty- 
five patients suffering from different in- 
juries and diseases in the building, and 
the doctors and nurses showed great 
heroism. But for their running into the 
street and hailing all the automobiles and 
teams in the vicinity, and making them 
carry the patients to the other three 
hospitals in the city, none would have 

60 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

been saved. As it was, before the last 
patient was out the roof was blazing. 
Meanwhile the children at the day nursery- 
had been taken care of and were nicely 
housed, thanks to Mr. Jesse Knowlton, 
at his home on Powderhorn Hill. 

The City Hall did not last long after 
the flames took their first mouthful. The 
city treasurer, Thomas B. Frost, early 
recognized the peril and removed all the 
city funds, while the books were locked 
in the safes by the city clerk, Charles H. 
Reed, who stayed in the building so long, 
saving property, that he was obUged to 
make his escape through a second-story 
window. The beautiful Baptist Church 
across the street melted away before the 
flames in a few minutes. 

Many people made a frightful mistake 
by thinking they were safe in fleeing to 
the Garden Cemetery. Those who did 
were surrounded on all sides by the 
flames, and for hours they crouched be- 
hind tombs, fighting the burning embers 
and gasping for breath. 
61 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The flames fairly shot up BeUingham 
Street, on which were many fine homes. 
Chief among them, on the very top of the 
hill, was the beautiful estate of Ex-Mayor 
Thomas Strahan, filled with valuable 
paintings, tapestries, and art treasures, 
collected from all parts of the world. The 
house was of brick and stone with a slate 
roof and plenty of land about it, and it 
seemed as if it could be saved. The 
view from the tower of the Strahan 
house can never be forgotten. As far as 
one could see, a seething mass of flame, 
like a tidal wave, was rolling up the hill. 
So fast had the fire approached that the 
Lynn engine, stationed halfway up BeU- 
ingham Street, was unable to get away. 
The firemen did not abandon it until 
their faces were burned and their hair 
singed. It was beyond human force to 
withstand the terrific heat and suffocating 
smoke, and it was with difficulty, when 
they finaUy abandoned it, that they were 
able to save their lives, as the fire com- 
pletely surrounded them. 
62 





RESIDENCE OF EX-MAYOR THOMAS STRAHAN 
BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

At this time the fire had already passed 
the Strahan house in the valley to the 
left, and the Highland School, halfway 
up the hill on that side, was in flames. 
Great pieces of burning wood came into 
the tower and the wind was so strong 
that it was hard to stand against it. 

So fascinating was the sight that it 
was not until the Strahan barn, only a 
few feet away, burst into flames, as if it 
was made of celluloid, that the writer 
descended from the tower to help the 
Strahans to escape; but they, like too 
many others, had waited too long, in 
hopes their home would be saved. With 
the help of the servants we carried out 
several blankets filled with clothing, a 
chest of silver and some jewelry, leaving 
thousands of dollars' worth of beautiful 
things to be devoured by the flames. 

We fled down the hill in the direction 
of Orient Heights. Hundreds were going 
the same way; poor and rich were on 
equal terms. The wind blew with such 
force that women were blown into fences 

63 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

and trees or lost their balance and fell. 
Great pieces of furniture went bounding 
end over end down the hill, blown by the 
wind. Horses were running away, and 
the scene was one of terrifying confusion. 
Escape was possible only by enduring 
the hostile breath of the flames, running, 
tripping over abandoned furniture in the 
blinding, sickening smoke, towards the 
marshes to the northeast, where, although 
safe from the flames, the refugees suf- 
fered untold agony from the hail-storm of 
stones and showers of blazing embers 
that fell upon them, burning holes in their 
clothes and starting grass fires in every 
direction. 

One old lady's celluloid back comb 
caught fire and her white hair was burned 
down to the scalp in back before the 
flames could be smothered. The many 
horses set loose on the marsh also en- 
dangered lives. The wails of hundreds of 
frantic parents vainly searching for their 
children added to the excitement. One 
mother fell in a dead faint when her two- 
64 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

year-old child, whom she had given up as 
lost, was brought to her. 

In the crowd racing down Mount Bell- 
ingham were many men, who had as- 
sumed the duties of clearing houses of 
inmates, lending a hand to all the weak 
and faltering, until they themselves were 
obliged to flee for their lives. Perhaps 
the most touching spectacle was the old 
people, forgotten by their relatives. In 
many cases these old women had to be 
carried bodily to safety, and it speaks 
well for the city that there were men 
doing this work amid the confusion and 
at the risk of their own lives. Men and 
boys, crazed by the thought of losing 
their homes, clambered to the roofs and 
tried to save them with puny buckets of 
water, replying to frantic warnings to 
escape while there was time, only with 
curses, until in many cases they had to 
be driven by blows to a place of safety. 

The flames came down the hill like a 
forest fire. They were upon the people 
before they realized it, and when they 
65 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

attacked at the front door there was but 
one thing to do, and that was to make a 
rush for the rear door. 

In the meanwhile, on the south side of 
the city the fire had burned from building 
to building. There was no stopping it, 
although the firemen worked desperately. 
It kept on towards the water front until 
it reached the buildings of the Tidewater 
Oil Company. Here five oil tanks caught 
fire and exploded and set fire to the docks 
along the water front, and then three 
barges loaded with oil a little farther on 
caught fire and spread to the Ellis yard, 
where more oil was stored. The fire 
boats came as near as they dared and 
poured streams of water on the flames, but 
it was like trying to check a volcanic 
eruption. 

The two bridges to East Boston next 
fell and cut off this means of escape, and 
in this way a Boston engine was burned 
and a boy lost his life. Near the bridges 
were many fine yachts, that of Mr. Sea- 
ver being worth $50,000. This, and 
66 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

many other vessels, were burnt. One 
broke away from its moorings and drifted 
to the East Boston shore, setting fire to 
the Standard Oil Works. This was about 
four o'clock, but from the time the fire 
began to spread into the east side of 
Chelsea, East Boston was in peril from 
the shower of sparks and burning brands 
which the high wind swept over its roofs. 
More than half the residents packed their 
belongings and were ready to move at a 
moment's notice. Despite the desperate 
efforts of the many engines the flames 
spread to a one-story brick building, con- 
taining three hundred barrels of oil, and 
soon four other buildings of the plant 
were burning. Next the great oil tanks 
went up, the flames shooting several 
hundred feet into the air and sending sky- 
ward great clouds of flame and thick, 
black smoke. This swept down the har- 
bor, across the bay, and out to sea, con- 
tinuing to do so for two days and two 
nights. Reports from Scituate, Cohas- 
set, and other places showed that showers 
67 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

of embers dropped from the clouds, and 
in places good-sized pieces of burnt 
shingles were picked up. Grass fires 
were started in Nantasket and Winthrop. 
The glare from the fire in the evening was 
seen from Portland, Me. The natives at 
first believed it to be York Beach, it was 
so bright. 

Meanwhile about fifty houses in East 
Boston had their roofs badly damaged. 
These fires, however, mark the extreme 
limit of the flames in this direction and 
were soon extinguished. 

Although much credit is due the fire- 
men, they were greatly helped by the 
fact that the velocity of the wind began 
to decrease about the time the oil works 
caught fire. 

While this contest was being waged, 
another army of firemen was struggling 
on the north. About two o'clock the 
Armory burned; and when it was all 
ablaze, a large quantity of ammunition 
which was stored in the building exploded 
with a tremendous report, while tons of 

68 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

burning wood were shot across the street 
and into the adjoining buildings. 

The Pubhc Library directly across the 
street, a gift to the city from the Hon. 
Eustis C. Fitz, containing over eighty 
thousand volumes and many historical 
records and relics, caught and burned 
without an attempt being made to save 
it or its contents. 

One of the best illustrations of the 
heat of the fire to those familiar with the 
burning of books, is the fact that after 
the fire not one scrap of paper was found. 
Granite will often crumble and iron melt 
before a book will be totally burned up. 

The Convent and Parochial School also 
were among the buildings which caught 
from the Armory, and the twenty- 
eight sisters made a hasty departure. 
Next went Saint Rose Catholic Church, 
remodeled at an expense of $50,000 a 
short time before. Beyond this was the 
railroad track, and here a determined 
stand was made. Thousands of people 
lined the opposite side of the track, and 

69 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

water was played on most of the build- 
ings. Soon after the Catholic Church 
commenced to burn the Melrose fire de- 
partment crossed the track with a line of 
hose and climbed the steep bank just in 
the rear of the church, which was like a 
flaming furnace. Hardly had they got 
the water on when the roof fell. The 
heat was so terrific that the firemen who 
held the hose were obliged to drop flat on 
their faces with their hands under their 
bodies. Even then they were more or 
less burned about the neck and ears. 
One fireman, who was nearest the build- 
ing, groaned in agony, ''Give me hell in 
preference to this." 

On Washington Avenue there stand 
to-day three wooden houses. They are 
the only buildings, with the exception of 
part of Cobb's stable on Broadway, 
which were saved on that side of the 
Boston and Maine tracks, and that they 
are still standing is due to two things : — 

First, to the fact that Union Park and 
the park at the station are in the rear 

70 





THE FITZ PUBLIC LIBRARY BEFORE AXD AFTER THE FIRE 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

and the fire had to burn around them 
and then up into the wind. 

Second, to Dr. Thomas Green and 
Robert Hamilton, who, after the others 
had deserted their homes, remained and 
helped the firemen. 

On the south of the city firemen were 
stubbornly fighting to save Winnisimmet 
Square. The flames upon spreading 
along Everett Avenue had made away 
with the great Chelsea Trust Company 
building on the corner of Everett Avenue 
and Broadway. They then reached out 
to the other corner and caught on every 
floor of the building. Across the street 
was the Post-office and this was doomed, 
but at the Park Hotel the flames were 
checked. 



71 



CHAPTER V 

UNDER CONTROL 

By six o'clock the firemen were keep- 
ing the fire confined to the buildings 
already burned on the south. On the 
north they had succeeded in preventing 
its crossing the railroad tracks, and on 
the east and west it had burned itself 
out, while in East Boston the firemen 
seemed to be holding their own. It was 
not until one o'clock in the morning, 
however, that Commissioner Parker an- 
nounced that all danger of its further 
spreading had passed. 

Late in the afternoon the United 
States marines from the Navy Yard, who 
had been ordered to Chelsea by Admiral 
Swift, arrived in Chelsea Square. The 
detail consisted of one hundred and ten 
72 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

men under command of Captain C. S. 
Hill, Lieutenants Moses, Williams, and 
Judson, with rifles and ball cartridges, 
and they at once cleared the square and 
the surrounding streets, and assisted 
the firemen in many ways. 

The good work done by this corps and 
their ability to carry out instructions 
is well illustrated by a story which went 
the rounds at the Puritan Club a few 
days later, at the expense of Harry 
Frothingham, one of the members. 

It seems that the former Boston fire 
commissioner, ''Ben" Wells, and Mr. 
Frothingham went over to Chelsea, arriv- 
ing shortly after the marines had cleared 
the square. Mr. Wells' fire badge ad- 
mitted him through the lines, and al- 
though Mr. Frothingham had no badge, 
he got through at the same time. Re- 
porters who recognized Mr. Wells joined 
him, anxious to get an interview from a 
man of so much experience in fires. A 
corporal of the guard who saw the crowd 
broke in with the remark, ''Have you 
73 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

fellows all got badges?" Mr. Fro thing- 
ham had none and the corporal ordered 
him out. The reporters could not stand 
for this, and one excitedly exclaimed, 
'^Look here, what are you doing? That 
is Ex-Alderman Frothingham, and he is 
with Ex-Fire Commissioner Wells." ''I 
don't care who he is or who he's with; 
if he hasn't got a badge, out he goes," 
replied the corporal, and turning to one 
of his men he said, ^'Put that man out 
and keep him out. See!" and Mr. 
Frothingham went. 



74 







\ ■■ .,_ „' '"■ 


n 


n 

■ V 


t 


iHT^T^^^^^^n 







CHAPTER VI 

NIGHT AMONG THE RUINS 

As night approached the problem of 
protecting the seventeen thousand refu- 
gees and their goods confronted those 
in authority, and it was reaUzed that it 
was too great for the local artillery com- 
pany and the detail from the Marine 
Corps to handle. The State was called 
upon for more military assistance and 
eight companies of the Coast Artillery, 
four of the Fifth Infantry, six of the 
Eighth Infantry, and four of the First 
Corps of Cadets were rushed to the scene, 
making twelve hundred troops on duty 
before morning. At ten thirty the city 
was declared under martial law, and no 
one was allowed in or out until morning. 
Seven hundred tents and seven hundred 
75 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

and fifty blankets were ordered down 
from the barracks at South Framingham, 
and a special train with Battalion Adju- 
tant Kendall in charge brought them 
through in record time, arriving shortly 
after midnight. All trains on the Boston 
and Maine, and all electric cars on the Bos- 
ton and Northern and the Boston Elevated 
had been stopped. The Chelsea Ferry 
was commanded to cease its trips and 
a cordon of soldiers was thrown entirely 
about the city. At the principal ap- 
proaches it is estimated that one hundred 
thousand curious people were turned 
back. The telephone exchange had been 
burned and of course the service was 
useless. Early in the day the electric 
power plant was shut down to prevent 
death by live wires, and the streets out- 
side the burned district would have been 
dark, but for the glow which was re- 
flected from the sky and the moon, which 
dimly beamed through the pall of smoke. 
At the Court House, where scores of 
injured were taken in ambulances, doc- 
76 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



tors and nurses, under charge of Dr. J. A. 
Johnson, worked as best they could by 
the Ught of lanterns. 

In the court room were homeless 
women huddled in gray despairing heaps 
on the hard benches. At the back of 
the room rows of rubber-coated men 
leaned back on thek hard benches, their 
inflamed eyes completely hidden by 
squares of soft absorbent cotton, soaked 
with ointments, which showed up with 
starthng effect against their blackened 
faces. In the center of the room, under 
the sickly ray of a red lantern, stood 
the big court table piled high with thick 
square loaves of bread, big four-gallon 
cans of milk, and fifty-gaUon cans of 
coffee. At either end of this table were 
well-dressed women, their faces pale and 
haggard, one cutting sUces of bread and 
others pouring coffee. Men ate in huge 
gulps and drank from thick white mugs 
and quart dippers, then rushed out to 
the fire, taking handfuls of food to those 
who could not leave their engines. The 
77 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

difference between the room, with its 
misery and confusion, and the orderly 
hall of justice for which it had served up 
to that day, was as marked a contrast 
as could readily be imagined. 

All night long ambulances dashed from 
the ruins to the United States Naval 
Hospital, where, under the direction of 
Medical Inspector H. E. Ames of the 
United States Navy the majority of the 
injured were treated, and to the United 
States Marine and Soldiers' Home hospi- 
tals, and but for the unflagging efforts 
of the hospital sergeants, doctors, and 
nurses many more lives would have been 
lost. 

One man, when picked up by the 
ambulance with his face and arms ter- 
ribly burned, was nearly dead. At- 
tempts were made to learn his name in 
case he should die, but in reply to the 
attendant's question he only moaned, 
' ' My God ! My God ! ' ' Another man was 
picked up with both legs broken, still 
another had a terrible gash in his fore- 
78 




KUINS OF THE CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



head caused by a falling wall, another 
man fell from a roof and broke two ribs, 
and so it went. In all, three hundred 
injured persons were treated. 

Mayor Beck, who had lost his home 
and his newspaper plant, was every- 
where, and it was nearly morning when 
he lay down on a policeman's cot at the 
station for a few hours' sleep. Many 
of the policemen who were on duty lost 
their homes, but stuck to their posts, 
although they did not know where their 
wives and families were. 

About midnight a gang of men started 
to clear the street railway tracks on 
Broadway and Everett Avenue, which 
are the outlets from Boston to many of 
the northern suburbs. In places they 
were piled several feet high with bricks, 
granite blocks, and other debris. The 
rails themselves had been twisted and 
bent into all conceivable shapes by the 
heat, and the trolley wires and poles were 
down. In spite of the several miles of 
track thus destroyed the company ran 
79 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

cars through the city the second day 
after the fire. Through the orders of 
Henry Mitchell, chairman of the High 
School Committee, the doors of the 
High School on Crescent Avenue had 
been thrown open early in the day to 
hundreds of women and children who 
were wandering aimlessly about the 
streets and parks. The corridors were 
now filled to overflowing with sobbing 
women, Httle children, and a few old men. 
Husbands and brothers were out hunt- 
ing for relatives, directing people to 
shelter or helping in some other way. 
Few men slept during that night, and 
hundreds had their eyes so badly burned 
and inflamed by the smoke and heat 
that they were in great pain. 

The High School could hold only a 
limited number, and it was pitiful to see 
women and children huddled together 
for warmth in little groups along the 
railroad tracks, in the parks, or in side 
streets. Thousands flocked to Powder- 
horn Hill and spent the night sobbing 
80 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

out some story of woe to any bystander 
who might seem at all interested. 

During the evening a citizens' meeting 
was held in the High School, which was 
attended by many prominent men. A 
Relief Committee was formed to care 
for the destitute and needy. Mr. Wra. 
E. McClintock, chairman of the State 
Highway Commission, was chosen chair- 
man; City Treasurer Thomas B. Frost, 
treasurer, and Benjamin P. Nichols, sec- 
retary. After sending out the following 
letter of appeal the meeting was ad- 
journed until eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing. 

'Chelsea, April 12, 1908. 

"We have been visited by a most ter- 
rible catastrophe. One half the area of 
our city has been swept by fire. Fifteen 
thousand people are homeless. 

''Twelve million doUars' worth of prop- 
erty has been destroyed. Our business 
section is almost wholly wiped out. We 
are in sore need. We have not lost our 
81 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

courage, but are applying ourselves with 
all our ability to the task before us. 

*'But that task is stupendous, and we 
ask assistance of all who are beneficently 
inclined. He who gives quickly gives 
double. Subscriptions may be sent to 
City Treasurer Thomas B. Frost." 

(Signed) "John E. Beck, 

"Mayor of Chelsea. 

"William E. McClintock, 
"Chairman of Relief Committee." 

Later it was decided to accept no aid 
outside the State of Massachusetts. 



82 



-j:-^ 




CHAPTER VII 

DAY DAWNS UPON THE RUINS 

As the sky grew light and the morning 
mist cleared away, it disclosed a vast 
expanse of smoking ruins. The night 
had passed, and what a night ! filled with 
vivid, awful memories of the dead and 
injured, the homeless and destitute. The 
great blackened tract over which the 
fire had swept, which only the day be- 
fore had been covered with dwellings, 
stores, and public buildings, was deserted, 
save for the soldiers, and here and there 
httle groups of firemen, tired and worn 
out, but still working. As it grew fighter 
more people appeared. On the play- 
ground to the west soldiers were pitch- 
ing tents for the homeless. As far as 
one could see lay nothing but a barren 
83 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

waste, with here and there the ragged 
walls of a church or school standing out 
against the sky, like the ruins of some old 
castle. 

On the sides of Bellingham Hill, with 
the exception of the walls of the High- 
land School, nothing remained. Far off 
in the distance towards the west stood 
the ruins of the big Frank B. Fay School, 
named for Chelsea's war mayor. 

Broadway had been partly cleared 
during the night and was passable. The 
other streets, however, were piled with 
debris. The telephone, electric light, 
and street railway wires were in a tan- 
gled mass all over the city. In spite of 
this, by noon the telephone people had 
six lines operating for official business. 
A line of hose had been kept playing on 
the vaults of the County Savings Bank 
all night, and about ten o'clock they 
were opened. A great cloud of smoke 
poured out, but the contents were intact, 
giving confidence to the other bank offi- 
cials that their securities were safe, which 
84 





THE HIGHLAND SCHOOL BEFORE AND AFfER THE FIRE 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



later proved true. To the southeast the 
huge oil tanks still belched forth clouds 
of smoke and flame, showing that here 
the fight was not yet over. 

The granite curbs that edged the 
streets were crumbled into Uttle piles of 
sand and gravel, and in the entire area 
there was not enough inflammable ma- 
terial to kindle a kitchen fire. So intense 
and searching had been the heat that the 
telegraph poles in places were burned 
two feet into the ground. Nowhere were 
there any ashes; they had all gone with 
the gale. It was the most complete 
sweep that could be imagined; hardly a 
brick wall stood, save those of public 
buildings. The sight was like nothing 
so much as the skeleton of Pompeii, with 
the great smoke clouds of the oil tanks to 
represent Vesuvius in eruption. The 
cellars were often filled with glowing 
coals, with here and there a darting 
flame and drifts of black smoke. 

The horror of the devastation thrilled 
the tingling nerves, and it all seemed like 

85 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

a fearful dream until a sharp, ''Halt! 
Who's there?" from a guard, brought 
back the reality of the thing. 

With the dawn the people of Chelsea 
got their first glimpse of the burnt area, 
and began to realize what the fire demon 
had accomplished. The work of over 
one hundred years had been destroyed in 
a few hours. In every direction were 
the skeletons of what had been beautiful 
shade trees that it had taken God fifty 
years to grow, and which ''Hell's breath '^ 
had withered and killed in a few minutes. 

With the daylight people took cour- 
age; there was no weeping, and the ex- 
cited crowds of the day before were no 
more. Men who had lost everything 
smiled and extended sympathy to others. 
The one thing that impressed the ob- 
server was the matter-of-fact way in which 
all took their losses. They kept their 
troubles to themselves and got to work 
helping others. 



86 





SHURTLEFF STREET BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FIREMEN 

No set of men ever worked harder than 
the firemen. They put up as gallant a 
fight as was ever fought on a battlefield. 
Old men, who had spent their lives fight- 
ing the flames, admitted that it was the 
hottest fire that they had ever seen. No 
amount of apparatus could have stopped 
it after the second fire had got started. 
The way the gale swept the flames along 
was beyond comprehension. 

The Chelsea firemen had been kept 
constantly on the jump for two years 
previous to the fire in the performance of 
their duties, and when this fire started 
they, like other citizens, thought it would 
be extinguished, as many others had been 

87 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

in that district, without much loss, but 
the second fire changed everything. 

At the meeting of the Fire Chiefs' Club 
of Massachusetts, held at the Hotel Cecil, 
Boston, on April 15, the sentiment ex- 
pressed was that no fire-fighter in the 
country could have done any better than 
Chief Spencer, with such odds against 
him, and as a token of their S3anpathy and 
esteem they elected him their president. 
They agreed, however, that the fire was 
not handled systematically, but that this 
was through no fault of Chief Spencer. 
If he had had a corps of deputies, there 
would have been some one in authority 
to meet the out-of-town firemen when 
they arrived. As it was, these com- 
panies had to rely on their own judgment 
and get to work without making a report. 

And speaking of Chief Spencer, a good 
story is told at his expense. During the 
fire a bundle of woman's wearing ap- 
parel was left at the Central Fire Station 
for safety. Shortly after Chief Spencer 
entered the building and threw his hat 

88 




COURTESY OF UTrCA SATURDAY GLOBE 



CHIEF SPENCER DURING THE FIRE 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



down upon the bundle, and when he left, 
hurriedly grabbed up a different hat. 
Later in the day the Central Fire Station 
burned, and one of the firemen, assuming 
that the chief had packed up his uniform 
in the bundle from the fact that his hat 
was on top of it, with much difficulty 
carried the bundle to a place of safety. 
The next day the man proudly went to 
his chief and notified him that he had 
saved his uniform. The chief was greatly 
surprised, but naturally pleased, and 
thanked him cordially, at which the 
blushing fireman replied he was glad to 
have been of service to him. The chief 
sent for the things, and notified his wife 
that he had sent his uniform home and 
asked her to open the bundle and hang it 
up. But it was up to the chief to explain, 
when his wife met him in the front hall 
with indescribable articles of female wear- 
ing apparel and demanded to know if 
they were a part of his uniform. 

Many firemen were injured or biu-ned 
during the day; all suffered terribly with 

89 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

their eyes, and men like Dr. W. S. Walk- 
ley (and there were a lot of them), who 
went about among the firemen bathing 
their eyes and putting cold cream on their 
burns, were a godsend and did much 
good. 

A great many Chelsea firemen lost 
their homes, but even when it became 
apparent that they were to be destroyed, 
they did not waver, but stuck to their 
duty. They would enter a burning 
building with their hose and stay there in 
an attempt to save it until their clothes 
were on fire, enduring suffocating smoke 
and intense heat, and many times did 
not leave their positions until their lines 
commenced to burn. In many cases 
they stuck to their posts, playing streams 
of water on burning oil tanks and build- 
ings containing explosives, when at any 
moment they were liable to be blown 
into eternity. Their courage and their 
loyalty to their superior officers will 
always be a lesson to follow to those who 
were among them. No criticisms have 
90 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

been made of their work ; it has been uni- 
versally acknowledged that no human 
agency could have won out against such 
odds on that day. 

The following letter, sent by Mayor 
Hibbard of Boston to Fire Commissioner 
Parker, would apply to the firemen from 
any of the many cities that gave aid to 
Chelsea. Each department was respon- 
sible for checking the fire and saving 
some portion of the city. 

''April 15, 1908. 

"Samuel D. Parker, Esq., 
''Fire Commissioner: 

*'My Dear Mr. Parker, — I congrat- 
ulate you and the officers and men of the 
Fire Department on behalf of the city for 
the magnificent work done in the Chelsea 
and East Boston fires on Sunday last. 

"The latter district owes its preser- 
vation to the courage and ability of the 
Fire Department of the city of Boston. 

"Only those familiar with the condi- 
91 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

tions can appreciate how magnificently 
the work was handled. 

'^Let me add my personal thanks and 
congratulations to you and your men. 

"Yours very truly, 

''G. A. HiBBARD, Mayor.'' 



92 



CHAPTER IX 

THE MILITIA 

Troops arrived all night on April 12, 
coming from different parts of the State. 
They were quartered in the electric cars 
stalled in Chelsea Square, in Grand Army 
Hall, in stores, and m fact, about any 
place where they happened to be. It 
mattered little, as very few men got a 
chance to sleep. Headquarters were es- 
tablished at the Police Station in the 
Court House, Colonel Charles P. Nutter 
taking command, being relieved later 
by Colonel E. Leroy Sweetser. A very 
heavy sentry detail was swung out during 
the night, forming a complete cordon 
around the burned area and the houses on 
the edge, which were only partly de- 
stroyed. Each man had ten rounds of 
ball cartridges issued him with instruc- 
93 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



tions to use them if his challenge was 
unheeded. Orders had been issued to 
pass no one in or out of the burned area 
during the night, but early in the morning 
orders were given to admit those with 
passes. 

The following is the first general order 
issued in Chelsea : — 

''Headquarters Provisional Battalion, 
Chelsea, Mass, April 13, 1908. 

"General Orders No. 1: 

''1. The headquarters of this Bat- 
talion will be at police headquarters until 
further orders. 

"2. Officers will be held strictly ac- 
countable for the safety of all private 
property within their districts, and will 
allow no one to disturb or carry away 
any private property from the ruins 
without a permit signed by Herbert W. 
Stebbins, or upon orders from the proper 
authorities. 

"3. Enlisted men will not leave the 
street to trespass upon private property, 

94 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



nor will they touch any private property, 
except to save it from loss, and then turn 
it over at once to their company com- 
manders. Sentinels will treat all per- 
sons courteously m enforcing orders. 

'*4. All officers and men will cooper- 
ate and assist the members of the city 
government, the police department, and 
authorized committees in their work. 

"5. Lieutenant Williams, assistant sur- 
geon. Eighth Infantry, will make an in- 
spection of the sanitary conditions within 
the city limits and report to these head- 
quarters. 

''6. Captain Whitney, Fifth Infantry, 
will inspect and report all walls that are 
unsafe within the burnt district. 

''By order of Colonel Sweetser, 
''Harry F. Brown, 
"First Lieutenant and Battahon Ad- 
jutant, 

"Acting Adjutant." 

There were three forms of passes issued, 
a blue one, which admitted to the lines, 
95 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

which was taken up; a white one, which 
permitted the bearer to search among the 
rmns; and a special one, allowing the 
holder to open a safe, which read as fol- 
lows : — 

'Termit to Enter upon Property. 
Good for this day only 
has permission to enter upon 
Street, previously occupied by 



him, to examine premises, open safe and 
remove property belonging to him, be- 
tween the hours of 8 a.m. and 5pm 

April-— ,1908. 

''Caspar G. Shannon, 
"Chief of Pohce. 
"Use of Explosives Forbidden." 

Many who had fled from the city when 
their homes were burned were unable 
to get back without much trouble, having 
first to satisfy guards on Chelsea Bridge 
and the highways leading to Everett 
and Revere that they had a right to be 
in the city. After they got through 
these outposts they could not get into 
96 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

the burned area without a pass from 
Colonel Nutter, who was in command. 
During the early hours hundreds of resi- 
dents on the farther side of the fire de- 
sired to go to Boston and other places 
to work, but could not do so on account 
of the cordon of soldiers, until arrange- 
ments were made to gather the people 
together in large groups and march them 
through. 

The police willingly gave in to the 
soldiers, and in no instance did a clash 
occur. Every one was stopped at the 
picket line and only firemen, policemen, 
and people with passes got by. Many 
people were indignant when stopped, and 
commenced to abuse the soldiers, but 
as a rule the reply, ''Those are the 
orders, sir," brought a smile and, ''Well, 
I'm not blaming you." 

An incident of the military patrol of the 
ruins was an encounter between the sen- 
tries and a gang of one hundred and fifty 
Italian laborers, who failed to comprehend 
the fact that they could not pass the guard 
97 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

lines without permits, although they 
had been sent to work on the ruins. The 
gang tried to rush the lines and a 
hand-to-hand tussle followed, in which 
some of the workmen were roughly 
handled. 

Another incident occurred on Broad- 
way. A soldier ordered a chauffeur to 
stop his machine. The man replied in 
an insulting manner and continued on 
his way. He was placed under arrest 
and turned over to the civil authorities. 
Judge Bossom sentenced him to six 
months in the House of Correction, 
stating that his conduct was reprehen- 
sible, and that at such a time every one 
should obey orders of those in charge 
and do everything in his power to assist. 

There is no question that the militia 
did its duty; the men worked hard, with 
practically no sleep and little food for 
days. They not only did guard duty, 
but helped in the relief work, and volun- 
teered for many other duties. 

Soldiers were detailed to search among 
98 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

the ruins for bodies; and when one was 
found, a guard was placed over it and 
was obliged to stay there, sometimes 
for hours, until the coroner could be 
found. They kept people away from 
the threatening walls and guarded what 
property was left. They acted as mes- 
sengers and stood for six to eight hours 
at a stretch on guard. The rations con- 
sisted of whatever could be got together, 
always coffee and bread, with some- 
times canned meats or beans, which was 
very meager compared to the regula- 
tion field ration. 

It was unjust and contemptible for a 
certain Boston paper to come out with 
big headlines to the effect that the sol- 
diers were looting, and the fact that 
this paper made an editorial apology 
the next day does not excuse the city 
editor for allowing it to get in. In the 
first place the soldiers had no time for 
looting, and in the second there was 
nothing of value left to steal. The fol- 
lowing article taken from ''Practical 
99 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Politics" expresses the writer's feelings 
very well : — 

''Whoever framed up the story that 
there was looting by the soldiers placed 
to guard people's property as well as the 
lives of the community, did the soldier 
boys a great wrong, for the story went 
broadcast all over the country, to the 
effect that they had been guilty of the 
most heinous offense, either in times of 
war or peace, that of looting the dead 
and the helpless people. The stories did 
a great injustice to the marines and 
jackies from the Navy Yard, as well as 
to the State forces, and that it was not 
true was very promptly shown by the 
governor and the adjutant general, both 
of whom nailed the story before it had 
traveled much. The harm was done 
when the press associations, accepting 
it as a bonafide piece of news, sent it to 
all parts of the world. One of the odd 
things about the accusation is that two 
members of the Massachusetts Legisla- 
ture, Senator Tilton S. Bell and Repre- 
100 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

sentative J. B. Ferber, were among the 
soldiers on guard at Chelsea during the 
critical times, and they did not see or 
hear of any looting." 

Editorials like the following appeared 
in many papers through the State: — 

''We have no hesitation in saying 
that the charge of looting made against 
the militia on duty in Chelsea is wholly 
unwarranted, and that even were some 
individual member of our military force 
guilty of such unsoldierly conduct, his 
offense is no excuse for wholesale accu- 
sations against the body. The troops, 
national and State, on duty in the burnt 
district have been doing splendid work; 
everybody who has watched their course 
has spoken in the highest terms of their 
care, courtesy, vigilance, and soldierly 
bearing; and their services have been 
of great value to the aflSicted community 
in preserving peace and property and 
facilitating the humanitarian work the 
occasion demanded. 

"We have every confidence in the dis- 
101 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

cipline, efficiency, integrity, and fidelity 
to duty of our troops; and if any indi- 
vidual militiaman has deflected from the 
standards of conduct expected and en- 
forced, we may confidently count on his 
punishment for his offense and his ex- 
pulsion from the body. Accusations 
against our troops are in bad taste and 
should not be indulged in unless backed 
by the best evidence." 

Upon the withdrawal of the State 
troops from Chelsea, Mayor Beck sent 
the following letter to Adjutant General 
Brigham : — 

''William M. Brigham, Adjutant Gen- 
eral: 

"Dear Sir, — As mayor of the city of 
Chelsea, I desire to tender this official 
recognition of the prompt, efficient, and 
valuable services rendered by the mili- 
tia under your command, detailed to 
preserve order and protect life and prop- 
erty in Chelsea during and since the 
great conflagration. 

102 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

''Order was maintained by your offi- 
cers and troops under the most trying 
circumstances, and no just criticism of 
their conduct, other than that which is 
creditable, can exist. 

''I feel especially grateful to both 
Colonel Charles P. Nutter and Colonel 
E. Leroy Sweetser for their harmonious 
cooperation with the civil authorities 
during this period. 

''My grateful acknowledgment of ob- 
ligation is also due to the rank and file 
of each company, including the Fifth 
Company, C. A. C, a large number of 
which, although their entire possessions 
were lost and their families rendered 
homeless by the fire, responded faith- 
fully to the high call of military duty 
without regard to their personal interests. 

"Respectfully yours, 

"John E. Beck, Mayor.'' 



103 



CHAPTER X 

EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY 

Before the fire was extinguished mes- 
sages offering aid and sympathy began 
to pom* in. One of the first was a tele- 
graphic despatch from President Roose- 
velt as follows : — 

"Mayor John E. Beck, Chelsea, Mass. 

"In company with all our people, I 
am inexpressibly shocked at the tragedy 
that has befallen Chelsea. Is there any- 
thing the national government can do, 
in connection with the Navy Yard or 
with either the military or naval estab- 
lishments at Boston, which will be of 
service? 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

to which Mayor Beck by the light of the 

104 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

fire wrote the following despatch in 
reply: — 

"President Roosevelt, 
Washington, D. C: 
''Your telegram of sjrmpathy and ten- 
der of service is deeply appreciated by 
our people The marines from the Navy 
Yard have done yeoman service for us. 
In the hour of this sad affliction the kind 
words of our sister cities and States have 
steeled our arm. We will arise from the 
ashes and build a new city that will show 
to the world the courage and fortitude 
of the citizens of Chelsea. Respectfully, 

''John E. Beck, Mayor." 
The Massachusetts senators sent the 
following : — 
" John E. Beck, Mayor, Chelsea, Mass. 

"We have learned with deep regret of 

the great misfortune which has befallen 

Chelsea. If there is anything we can do 

to aid you, please let us know at once. 

(Signed) "Henry Cabot Lodge. 

"WiNTHROP Murray Crane.'' 

105 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Congressman Roberts of Chelsea tele- 
graphed: ^^Do you want me to intro- 
duce a resolution in Congress for blan- 
kets?" 

Acting Governor Draper went to Chel- 
sea as soon as he learned of the catas- 
trophe, and offered the aid and sympathy 
of the State. 

A cable was received at the State 
House from the Irish National Party as 
follows : — 

'^ Dublin, Ireland, April 13, 1908. 

''To Governor, State House, 

Boston, Mass. 
''Irish National Party deeply sympathize 
with Boston in tragic calamity. 

" (Signed) Redmond." 
to which the governor replied : — 

"April 14, 1908. 
"Hon. John E. Redmond, M. P., 
Dublin, Ireland. 
"Thanks for expression of sjmipathy. 
While great loss of property and much 
106 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



suffering, oui people have situation well 
in hand 

''(Signed) Draper, Acting Governor." 

The following despatch was sent to 
Mayor Beck immediately after a hurried 
meeting of the citizens of Brookline 
had been called: — 

"In behalf of the town of Brookline, I 
send to you our deepest s)Tiipathy for the 
calamity which has come to your city. 

''I authorize you to draw on the town 
of Brookline now for the sum of $1000, 
and further steps will be taken to aid you 
financially. I trust you will call upon 
me at the Brookline Town Hall if there is 
any other assistance which our citizens 
can render you at the present moment. 
We stand ready to help you in whatever 
way we can. 

''Respectfully yours, 

"William Craig, 
"Chairman Board of Selectmen." 
General Booth of the Salvation Army 
cabled from London as follows : — 
107 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

"Mayor, Chelsea: I mourn with you 
in this calamity. Sympathize with suf- 
ferers and pray that God may be with 
them and comfort them. 

"William Booth." 

Hundreds of similar messages were re- 
ceived from all parts of this country and 
abroad, and the two telegraph stations, 
hurriedly established, one on Charles- 
town Bridge, and the other at the Boston 
and Maine railroad station, were kept 
busy. Hundreds of telegrams and 
cables were received which could not be 
delivered as the people to whom they had 
been addressed had been burned out and 
in many cases had left the city. 



108 



CHAPTER XI 

THE RELIEF WORK 

The work of relief started almost be- 
fore the flames of the first section de- 
stroyed had died away. Acting Gov- 
ernor Draper, who had arrived in Chelsea 
about the middle of the afternoon, at 
once realized the immediate need of as- 
sistance, turned about and had his chauf- 
feur take him speedily to his office at the 
State House. Here he got into commu- 
nication with the City Hall, and a meet- 
ing was arranged at the mayor's office. 
Mayor Hibbard, who was at his summer 
home in Provincetown, arrived about six 
o'clock. The first move was to get hos- 
pital service to the city and all available 
doctors, nurses, and ambulances were 
sent to Chelsea. 

109 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Messengers were despatched to bring 
many prominent citizens to a citizens* 
meeting, and among the first to arrive 
was Major Henry L. Higginson of the 
firm of Lee, Higginson & Company, who 
at once offered all immediate financial 
assistance necessary. Provisions for the 
refugees were the first necessity, and the 
authorities in Boston and Chelsea com- 
bined to secure them. Bakers, provision 
dealers, and restaurant keepers readily 
volunteered to furnish them, and what is 
more important, had them ready and 
dehvered in Chelsea by midnight. 

Meanwhile, the residents of Chelsea 
had not been idle. While the fire was at 
its height, J. Travis Roberts went to the 
junction of County Road and the Boule- 
vard, and stopped every motor car that 
came along, com-teously requesting the 
drivers to loan their cars to the city. In 
a very short time about fifty cars had been 
secured, and their help was of great 
value. 

Dr. Charles N. Cutler organized a res- 
110 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

cue corps with motor cars to take the 
needy people to the First Congregational 
Church on County Road, where Mrs. 
Henry A. Tenney had charge, and was 
assisted by Mr. Herbert Slade, Miss Flor- 
ence H. Mitchell, and many others. H. P. 
McManus of the firm of Atwood & Mc- 
Manus summoned all his teamsters and 
got out ten double wagons, which he 
ordered into the burning district and put 
at the disposal of the fleeing population. 
In this way a great many families saved 
most of their belongings. He then se- 
cured ten bushels of sandwiches to feed 
the fire fighters. All about the edge of 
the fire luncheons were to be had for the 
asking. Mr. R. H. Grant made and 
served many gallons of coffee. Dr. 
Charles Reeds went through the burnmg 
district near his home, handing out food 
to the soldiers and firemen. Every 
namable kind of relief sprang into action, 
and the organized Relief Committee was 
relieved of a large proportion of its duty. 
The National, American, and Adams 
111 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Express companies put their teams at 
the disposal of the ReHef Committee and 
offered to transport all relief supplies free. 

Mr. Albert Tenney, manager of the 
Suburban Electric Company of Maiden, 
placed five automobiles at the disposal of 
the conomittee, and ran one himself for 
several days. 

The Chelsea Relief Committee, which 
was selected early in the evening, set up 
headquarters in the High School build- 
ing just outside the fire lines. The first 
step was to open an information bureau, 
where the homeless were directed to 
churches and other places open to re- 
ceive them, and where the missing could 
report and the lost get in touch with 
their friends. 

The next morning there were organ- 
ized a bureau of general information, 
a committee for medical relief, and a 
housing and employment biu-eau. The 
insurance companies also established a 
bureau of information. In the base- 
ment a bakery and lunch counter was 

112 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

started, and great four-horse loads of 
food were delivered at one door and 
distributed at another. 

The Scenic Temple on Second Street, 
at the other end of the city, was opened 
as a dispensary distributing station, in 
charge of George H. Willie and George 
H. Dunham. Other places of refuge were 
the Salvation Army Barracks in Chelsea 
Square, Saint Luke's Parsonage, the 
Gary Avenue Methodist Church, the First 
Congregational Church, the Soldiers' 
Home, and scores of other places where 
small numbers could be cared for. 

William E. McClintock, chairman of 
the Relief Committee, opened his head- 
quarters at his residence opposite the 
High School. The Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association opened headquarters in 
the Review Club next door. Voting 
booths were erected on the club's tennis 
court for the use of the city officials. 
Crowds gathered on the streets about 
these buildings, and it took a large detail 
of soldiers to keep things straightened 
113 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

out. In the High School, lines of young 
women were busy making card catalogues 
of new addresses and telling the inquirers 
where their friends and relatives were to 
be found. In the rooms off the corridors, 
committees inquired into each case, and 
issued cards for food and clothing. At 
every entrance stood sentries to keep out 
the merely curious, and outside other 
soldiers kept the deserving crowd in a 
line, which for days reached far down the 
street and turned the comer. On the 
third floor were piled articles of clothing. 
At first there was naturally a great con- 
fusion, but soon the committee got things 
down to a system. 

The Massachusetts Chelsea Relief Com- 
mittee issued the following bulletin for 
information of fire sufferers and others : — 

Executive Headquarters — Chamber 
of Commerce, Boston, Mass. ; telephone, 
Fort HiU 1834. Edmund Billings, ex- 
ecutive secretary, James J. Storrow, 
chairman. 

114 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Treasurers — Lee, Higginson & Com- 
pany, 44 State Street, Boston, Mass. 

Chelsea Relief Committee — High 
School Building, Chelsea. 

Insurance Information — High School 
Building, Chelsea. 

Receiving Station — For supplies, ex- 
cept food, Keany Building, 251 Cause- 
way Street, Boston; telephone, Rich- 
mond 777. 

Registration for Lodgings — Munici- 
pal Building, 427 Blossom Street, Boston; 
telephone, Haymarket 427. 

Registration for Volunteer Workers — 
Room 31, Charity Building, Chardon 
Street, Boston; telephone, Haymarket 
847. 

Automobiles — Owners who can loan 
their machines for use, telephone Room 
31, Charity Building; telephone, Hay- 
market 847. 

All supplies (except food) should be 
sent to the Keany Square Building, 251 
Causeway Street, which is in charge of 

115 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Miss Katherine D. Loring of the Red 
Cross Society. 

From this point they are distributed 
on proper requisition to the various 
points where the refugees are located. 

There is a great necessity for under- 
clothing, men's, women's and children's, 
babies' blankets, blankets, sheets, and 
pillow cases. 

They cannot use anything that is dirty 
or torn, nor clothing trimmed with lace, 
or evening dresses. 

Offers of food, milk, and other perish- 
able supphes should be made to Mr. Bill- 
ings, the executive secretary. Chamber 
of Commerce Building; telephone, Fort 
Hill 1834. 

All persons who had any fire insurance 
and who had a fire loss should apply to 
the Insurance Information Committee, 
High School Building, Chelsea, Room 11. 

The fire insurance companies have 
estab ished this committee to furnish 
free information and advice to any per- 
116 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

son who was insured and suffered any 
fire loss, whether their poHcies were 
burned or not. 

There is a great need for automobiles 
to be used in moving the sufferers and in 
distributing nurses, etc., both in Chelsea 
and Boston. 

Owners who are willing to loan their 
cars for such use should telephone to 
Room 31, Charity Building, Boston, 
Haymarket 847. 

The following relief stations were estab- 
lished by the committee : — 

First District — High School Building, 
Crescent Avenue. 

Second District — Lincoln Hall, Sec- 
ond Street. 

Third District — First Congregational 
Church, County Road. 

Fourth District — 880 Broadway. 

Fifth District — Spencer Avenue School 
Building. 

These were the only ones provided for 
by the committee in Chelsea, although 

117 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

special interests looked out for their own 
people. Among them were the follow- 
ing stations : — 

Central Congregational Church — ^Wash- 
ington Avenue opposite Heard Street. 

Christian Science Church — Rear of 2 
County Road. 

St. Luke's Episcopal Church — Parish 
house, Washington Avenue, corner Spruce 
Street. 

All denominations — Cary Avenue 
Methodist Church. 

Catholic — Old parochial residence, 
Crescent Avenue near Broadway. 

Labor Unions — 195 Broadway. 

Elks — Corner Williams Street and 
Broadway. 

Eagles — Broadway, opposite Court 
House. 

Foresters and Knights of Columbus — 
66 Williams Street. 

Red Men — Towne's store, Broadway 
Square near Second Street. 

Hebrew Information Bureau — 129 
Winnisimmet Street. 
118 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

N. E. O. P. — 371 Spruce Street. 

Masonic Bodies — 136 Broadway. 

District Nurses — Lincoln Hall, Sec- 
ond Street. 

Knights of Columbus — Old Salva- 
tion Army building, Park Street. 

Christian Scientists — General distri- 
bution of relief supplies, carriage house 
rear of Wilson estate, Carter Street off 
Washington Avenue. ' 

The regular relief stations in Chelsea in 
one day distributed the following sup- 
plies : — 

FOOD 

Milk, gallons 400 

Coffee, gallons 600 

Canned meat, cases 75 

Canned soup, cases 100 

Canned salmon, cases 50 

Dry codfish, large boxes 50 

Coffee, pounds 100 

Condensed milk, cans 1;200 

Granulated sugar, pounds 500 

Eggs, dozens 1,000 

119 



THE BURNING OF CHELS EA 

CLOTHING 

Boys' suits 5qq 

Children's underwear 599 

Men's underwear 5qq 

Men's trousers 250 

Men's shoes, cases 25 

Women's shoes, cases 25 

Women's underwear, suits IQO 

Hosiery, men and women, pairs. . 1,500 

Blankets 1000 

Mattresses '^qq 

Pillows ;;;■■;; ^q^ 

Among the Chelsea women who worked 
untu-ingly for days at the relief stations 
were: Mrs. Grace D. Bancroft, Miss 
Mary Keen, Miss Alice Dorkhann, Mrs. 
Charles Bourne, Mrs. Boyd Bartlett, Mrs. 
Andrew T. Hunnewell, Miss Ethel F 
Bourne, Mrs. C. Willis Gould, Miss 
Edith Bush, Miss Margaret H. Ames 
(Naval Hospital), Miss Agnes Peck, Mrs. 
F. L. Avery, Miss Abbie Tarrell, Mrs. 
E. Frank Guild. 
It was found after the second day that 
120 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



many applicants who crowded into the 
rehef stations were simply taking bundles 
of clothing and supplies across to Boston 
and selling them for what they would 
bring. It was learned that some of 
these people did not live in Chelsea at 
all, being impostors from various quar- 
ters, who were fraudulently obtaining 
places in the relief line, and it was found 
absolutely necessary to have some kind 
of personal identification. The commit- 
tee, therefore, adopted the following 
identification card: — 

SAVE TIME FOR YOURSELF 

and help the committee by having the 
attached card of identification filled out 
and signed by your pastor, doctor, or 
some business or professional man known 
to the committee. With the identifica- 
tion card you will be served without 
delay. Without the identification card 
you will go to Room — and be specially 
examined. 

121 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

Below is a blank, as follows: — 

I am personally acquainted with 
of No. — Street, and 



know that he is worthy of aid. I rec- 
commend that he be given , etc. 

An average of twelve thousand people 
a day were fed at the various relief sta- 
tions for weeks. H. P. Hood & Son sent 
wagon loads of fine milk free of charge. 
Henry Siegel wired his Boston manager 
to establish immediately a tent for the 
free distribution of soup, sandwiches, and 
coffee, and the instructions were carried 
out. A. Shuman sent over one thou- 
sand dollars' worth of wearing apparel. 

A relief station was established at the 
Keany Square Building in Boston and 
was under the charge of Miss 
Katherine Loring, who was assisted by 
Miss Eleanor Sears, Miss Higginson, Miss 
Hunnewell, Miss Olive Ames, Mrs. Arthur 
D. Cook, Miss Dorothy Forbes, and other 
young society leaders of Boston. A 
detachment of ten signal corps men were 
122 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

placed here under command of Lieu- 
tenant R. E. Blecher to guard the place 
and help sort goods sent in. 

Mr. Herbert Norton, chairman of the 
Chelsea License Commission, immedi- 
ately canceled all licenses which had been 
issued in Chelsea and Police Commis- 
sioner O'Meara of Boston issued the 
following order the night of the fire : — 

"City of Boston, Police Department. 

"April 12, 1908. 

"Under the authority conferred upon 
me by sec. 19, chap. 291, acts of 1906, I 
hereby suspend and make inoperative 
until further notice all licenses to sell 
intoxicating liquors in police division 7 
(East Boston) and in that part of police 
division 15 (Charlestown) lying between 
Mystic and Charles rivers and the har- 
bor on the north and east and southwest 
and a line on the west drawn through 
Everett Street, extended to Mystic River, 
Concord Street, Monument Square, Pleas- 
ant and Devens streets, Rutherford Ave- 
123 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

nue and Arrow Street, extended to the 
water, including both sides of said streets, 
square, and avenue. 

*'Sec. 19 provides further that: — 

'''Any Hcensee who personally or by 
his servants or agents sells, furnishes, or 
delivers any intoxicating liquors during 
such suspension shall be punished by a 
fine of $200 for said offense, and his 
license shall become forfeited.' 

"This suspension will be revoked as 
soon as it becomes evident that public 
safety and order in the parts of the city 
specified no longer require it. 

" (Signed) Stephen O'Meara, 

"Police Commissioner of the City of 
Boston." 

Nearly two hundred refugees were sent 
to the South Armory, and housed in the 
quarters of Battery A, Field Artillery. 
Armorer George Thorpe worked untir- 
ingly for their comfort. The Mellin's 
Food Company sent to Chelsea twenty- 
124 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 



five cases of malted milk, the National 
Biscuit Company two hundred boxes of 
Uneeda biscuits. The Horace Memorial 
Church on Webster Avenue took care of 
two hundred people. The McGee Fur- 
nace Company, the Revere Rubber Com- 
pany, the Forbes Lithograph Company, 
and many other big manufacturing plants, 
estabHshed rehef stations for their own 
employees. 

The rector of Saint Rose Catholic 
Church issued the following notice: — 

^^ Chelsea, April 15, 1908. 

''The parish is fully covered by insur- 
ance and has no need of assistance, and 
has a glorious future before it. We have 
no need to think of that now. Provision 
will be made for masses and everything 
of that kind. 

''What we are wholly intent on now is 
the relief of the poor. We have three 
bureaus of supphes open day and night, 
and all may come for relief. All who are 
in the city, whether of our faith or not, 
125 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

will be gladly welcomed. We will sup- 
ply them with food and clothing, and 
will engage and furnish tenements in 
Boston and elsewhere. We beg Chelsea 
people who have left the city, and are 
temporarily with friends, but who can- 
not stay long where they are, to come 
and let us provide for them. 

''Our depots are at the Spencer Avenue 
Catholic school, at the old parochial resi- 
dence, Broadway and Crescent Avenue, 
and at the corner of Williams and Broad- 
way. 

^'Thomas J. Cusick, Rector." 

The three banks which were destroyed 
secured temporary quarters in a building 
near the Court House, and inside of 
twenty-four hours had their securities 
out of the ruins, and were able to pay 
depositors who needed money. 

The morning after the fire the Chelsea 

Post-office opened temporary quarters 

in a pool room on Park Street. All mail 

that was in the burned Post-office was 

126 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

saved by heroic work of the department, 
and three deUveries were made during 
the day following the fire, although the 
majority of people to whom mail was 
addressed could not be found. 

Congressman Roberts at once intro- 
duced a bill in the House of Represen- 
tatives appropriating $125,000 to pro- 
vide for a new building. 

Furniture companies and other busi- 
ness concerns took immediate measures 
to relieve their patrons. Instalment 
houses announced that their customers 
having unsettled accounts need not 
worry about payment, as all goods sold 
were insured. 

Major Walter E. Lombard made an 
appeal to the military organizations 
throughout the State for funds to 
relieve the members of the Fifth Com- 
pany, Coast Artillery Corps, whose Ar- 
mory had been destroyed, and who had 
lost, not only their clothes, but in thirty- 
five cases their homes. Over $1500 was 
contributed to this fund. 
127 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The labor unions of Boston were 
prompt in coming to the aid of their 
members who suffered in the fire. 

Hundreds of loaves of bread came 
over in the wagons of Ferguson, Fox, and 
other bakers, while Cobb, Bates & Yerxa 
and S. S. Pierce & Company had great 
four-horse wagons early on the scene, 
loaded with provisions of all sorts. Sup- 
plies piled in from all sides. The Keany 
Square Relief Station looked like a great 
warehouse. In one day the following 
gifts were acknowledged by this sta- 
tion : — 

A carload of clothing from the Phillips 
Brooks House, a carload of suits from 
the Brookline relief committee, a box of 
clothing from Mrs. Kennison, gifts from 
the First Presbyterian Church on Colum- 
bus Avenue, clothing from boys of Phil- 
lips School, gifts from Shepard, Norwell & 
Company, gifts from C. F. Hovey & Com- 
pany, an express load of packages from 
the city of Somerville, gifts from the 
King's Daughters of Cambridge, twelve 
128 





THE SHURTLEFF SCHOOL BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

barrels of gifts from the Salem Thought 
and Work Club, gifts from W. S. Butler, 
fifteen mattresses from the New York 
Mattress Company, three boxes of goods 
from the Jordan Marsh Company, goods 
from James A. Houston & Company, 
goods from W. H. Brine & Company, 
goods from High School at Dorchester 
Heights, goods from the Friendly Society 
of the South Congregational Church, 
goods from the Concord Woman's Club, 
one hundred and seven dozen pairs of 
stockings from the Star Theater Com- 
pany, goods from the Women's Guild of 
the Church of the Good Shepherd, and 
gifts from G. B. H. Macomber. 

The spirit the citizens themselves 
showed, compelled admiration from every 
outsider. They were courageous, to say 
the least, and the general sentiment 
among them was not downheartedness, 
but determination to relieve the suffering 
at once, and then to reestablish the 
municipality on a better basis than 
formerly. 

129 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The people fully appreciated the gen- 
erosity shown them throughout the 
State, and more than one, big, strong, 
able-bodied man felt a lump come into 
his throat when he read of and saw the 
many things that were being done by 
strangers outside of the city for its 
relief. 

Two days after the fire the city had 
hundreds of unemployed at work clearing 
the streets. Judge Bossom announced 
that until conditions were relieved he 
would deal stringently with drunkards 
and other law breakers, and suiting his 
actions to his words, gave four men ar- 
rested the night after the fire the full 
penalty allowed by the law. 

The prompt and systematic organiza- 
tion for relief gave assurance to the peo- 
ple of the State that their funds would 
be wisely directed in relieving the needs 
of the people and resulted in private 
purses being opened in a most generous 
and liberal way. 

Lee, Higginson & Company received 
130 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

sums ranging from a few dollars up to 
several thousand, aggregating in the 
neighborhood of $350,000. 

In spite of all that was done in the city 
there was not room for all, and the sur- 
rounding towns and cities made Chelsea's 
needs their own. The Revere Town Hall 
was thrown open to the refugees, the 
Revere Women's Club taking care of 
one hundred and fifty at night and feed- 
ing more during the day. 

In Maiden Saint Paul's Episcopal 
Church, the First Baptist Church, the 
Congregational, the Methodist, and the 
Catholic churches were thrown open to 
the needy. 

Everett, Medford, and Winthrop also 
took care of many of the destitute. The 
Civil Service House in Boston was opened 
from the beginning of the trouble, and 
most of the lost children were sent there. 
The Boston English High School opened 
its doors and took care of about one 
hundred refugees as long as was neces- 
sary. 

131 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

A monster dramatic entertaimnent 
was held at the Boston Theater, and all 
the actors playing in Boston at the time 
gave their services. The entire proceeds 
were given to the relief fund. The best 
seats sold at large premiums, and every 
seat and all standing room was taken. 

Mrs. Pelbouth of the Dennison House, 
offered the service of women connected 
with that institution; the Wayfarers' 
Lodge accommodated two hundred men; 
the Bay State House on Hanover Street 
took care of from thirty to forty; the 
Parker Memorial on Appleton Street of- 
fered the use of its rooms; H. F. Denny of 
the Lakeshore Home, Sharon, took care 
of fifty women and children; Sister 
Gabriel of the home for Destitute Chil- 
dren offered shelter for children left 
homeless; about five hundred people 
found shelter at the Salvation Army 
Palace; the Saint James Hotel, Bowdoin 
Square, Boston, offered to take care of a 
number; the Massachusetts General Hos- 
pital offered employment to five men and 

132 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

agreed to take twenty to thirty sick 
people and supply nurses. 

The Animal Rescue League sent men 
to Chelsea to look out for the homeless 
dogs and cats in the burned district. 
Those suffering from injuries were at 
once chloroformed; the others were taken 
to the Carver Street Home and held for 
owners to claim. 

Help of every description was offered 
to man and beast. It came quickly and 
in abundance without being called for; 
and those who wondered during the fire 
if there was a God, soon found him in the 
hearts of the people of the Common- 
wealth. 



133 



CHAPTER XII 

Chelsea's future 

In spite of the fact that no munici- 
pality in the State ever had such a blow 
as Chelsea, which lost millions of tax- 
able property and fully one third of its 
population, the city has a glorious future 
before it. Of this there is no doubt. It 
will be rebuilt, bigger and better in 
every way. It will be a different kind 
of a city, however. The conservative 
people, who have lived in their old 
houses year after year, although the 
environment about them had changed, 
will in many cases rebuild in different 
sections of the town. The old style of 
architecture will give way to the new. 
There will be a relocation of schools and 
churches, and the City Hall and other 

134 




lAP SHOWING BURNED DISTRICT 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

public buildings will be more conven- 
iently located. Streets will be widened 
and laid out differently in many cases, 
and the old houses and buildings which 
had been remodeled into stores along 
Broadway will be replaced by fine busi- 
ness blocks of brick and concrete con- 
struction. Hardly had the smoke of 
the fire cleared away when the people 
turned their thoughts towards rebuilding. 
Chelsea is the home of many able and 
influential people, representing large man- 
ufacturing, banking, political, and pro- 
fessional interests. These men, who had 
their business and property interests at 
stake, decided that to secure confidence 
in the city and rapid rebuilding was 
impossible under the existing city charter, 
but that if a board of five competent 
men were appointed by the governor and 
given the power of the mayor, Board 
of Aldermen and School Committee for 
five years, it would be possible. The 
appointment of such a board or com- 
mission, it was believed, would cut out 
135 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

all political strife. A bill was there- 
fore introduced and at a hearing held 
on April 28 at the State House nearly 
all the prominent citizens were present. 
As a matter of record the following 
speeches are of interest, showing, as they 
do, the general feeling of the people. 

Mayor John E. Beck spoke as follows : — 

''We have come to the conclusion, 
regardless of everything else in the city, 
that legislation is needed to promote the 
welfare and future of our city. Nearly 
five hundred acres have been destroyed 
by the fire, and now we are confronted 
with the task of rebuilding the city. 
We have agreed, I believe, in the city 
of Chelsea, almost to a man, that if 
we have Chelsea's future at heart, and 
we believe that her future must be pro- 
tected, that legislation of this kind is 
needed. Political ambition and other 
things of that nature must be eliminated. 
We have come to you as a unit from 
the city of Chelsea, to ask you gentle- 
136 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

men of the committee to give us this 
bill. It will then be in the hands of 
the governor to appoint whom he sees 
fit, citizens, as the members of that 
commission, so long as they are of our 
own citizenship. We can then bring 
back the confidence that is desired, and 
build a more beautiful and substantial 
Chelsea than before. The mayor or 
Board of Aldermen lack the power to 
do what is now needed to accomplish 
this work. The work of reconstruction 
must be carried on by a body, indepen- 
dent in action, and as a citizen, I wish 
to further those things which are of essen- 
tial benefit to every inhabitant of our 
city. This cannot be accomplished by 
politics. This is my first year as mayor; 
I am willing to sacrifice that and all my 
own political ambitions, that our city 
may prosper in this year of progress and 
take its place among the leading cities 
of the Commonwealth. A bill of this 
nature carries with it the one thought, 
that we must have the best men possible; 
137 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

in order to restore confidence and thus 
secure results which will insure the fu- 
ture and best interest of the city." 

Congressman Ernest W. Roberts said : — 

''The little I have to say will be as 
a citizen of Chelsea, a resident of that 
municipality for over forty years. Chel- 
sea of to-day is not a city of wealthy 
people. You have heard from the city 
treasurer somewhat of the losses that 
we have sustained. If our city is to be 
rehabihtated^ if we are to become once 
more a flourishing municipality, it is 
necessary in the first instance to restore 
confidence, both in the people now liv- 
ing in Chelsea and those who have been 
forced out of the city by reason of this 
fire, and what is much more important, 
the confidence in financial men in the 
future of that city. We have got to 
have large amounts of money poured 
into the city to rebuild it, and without 
that basic principle of confidence in the 
future of the city we are not going to 
138 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

get the money. I am not in favor of 
government by commission, but there 
are times and conditions when it seems 
to me that the commission is the only 
solution of the problem, and I firmly 
believe to-day that the question con- 
fronting the people of Chelsea can only 
be solved through a commission. With- 
out a commission there would be a lack 
of continuity of government, so essen- 
tial for the successful solution of the 
problem that now confronts the people 
of Chelsea. Through a commission a 
comprehensive scheme can be laid out 
and can be carried out, step by step. 
After its conclusion and when the com- 
mission has done that work, the govern- 
ment of the city can be turned back to 
its citizens under its present plan, or 
such other plan as the conditions then 
presented to the city and country may 
warrant. I am not here to argue for 
every line in the bill, but I am in favor 
of the basic idea of the bill, which is 
a commission which shall have a fixed 
139 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

tenure of oflfice in order that there may 
be given to those men sufficient time 
to carry out their plans. If your bill 
does not provide enough time, you are 
not going to accomplish what we want, 
and that is the creation of confidence 
among monied men. I would suggest 
for the consideration of the committee 
one possible amendment, and that would 
be towards fixing a definite sum of 
money which the commission could raise 
by the issue of bonds. It would seem 
to be wise not to leave the matter en- 
tirely open in the bill as it is to-day." 

Hon. Willard Rowland spoke as fol- 
lows : — 

" I think there has been wiped out no 
single complete ward. The area of the 
city is fourteen hundred acres, and 
about four hundred and ninety have 
been devastated. That is a strip about 
six thousand feet long and one thousand 
feet wide. It is estimated that about 
$8,000,000 of its taxable property has 

140 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

been destroyed. This bill comes before 
you as the result, I think, of a very 
great concerted action among all the 
citizens. Necessarily, some one must 
take the lead. Shortly after the fire, 
within a day or two, representatives of 
the financial interests and the insurance 
interests, manufacturing and other in- 
terests of the city, were called together by 
some few representative men and others 
and discussed the prospective needs of the 
city. The great problem is the one of 
to-morrow, and it was believed that in- 
asmuch as a very large proportion of the 
property destroyed must be rebuilt by 
capital borrowed for the purpose, the 
essential was a large degree of confidence 
in the city's ability to go forward and pay 
the debts which it would be obliged to 
incur, a confidence which it was necessary 
to reestablish, if it had been destroyed. 
Now it is true that the fire passed through 
largely the residential portion of the 
city, and on both sides of the fire-swept 
district remain many business enter- 

141 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

prises. I think there were thirty-seven 
of the various institutions represented 
in the consideration of this matter, for 
we have some manufacturers there who 
employ a thousand men and whose pay- 
roll amounts from $10,000 to $11,000 
a week. The people's opportunity for 
employment has not been interrupted, 
but their homes have been destroyed. 
It is intended to rebuild them, but the 
constitutional limitations would prevent 
our asking for aid for the accomplish- 
ment of that purpose. That must come 
through the confidence of private in- 
vestors in our ability to rebuild and 
maintain our city. 

''I think, however, it may be said that 
there are three propositions on which 
we agree absolutely, and that is, that 
there should be at this time a commis- 
sion appointed to take charge of finan- 
cial affairs and administer the govern- 
ment for the city. I think we are agreed 
that the commission should be appointed 
by the governor with the advice of the 
142 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

council. There is necessity for the State's 
assistance to be rendered in this emer- 
gency. We differ on some things which 
I think are not so essential as those 
things upon which we agree. I think 
that the appointment of the commission 
should be in the hands of the governor, 
without the limitation as made. We 
are not agreed as to the terms of the 
commission, that is, the length of time 
that it should serve. My own opinion 
of that is this, that we should appoint 
a commission for such term as should 
be sufficient to warrant the opinion that 
some policy could be defined and carried 
out. If the Legislature chooses at some 
future time to change the situation, they 
can do so. If any citizen desires a 
change, he, individual!)^, or they, collec- 
tively, can come to the Legislature and 
ask for a change. If government by 
commission is to the satisfaction of all 
citizens, it may continue without fur- 
ther legislation. The necessity is ap- 
parent and I think nine tenths of the 
143 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

citizens are in favor of the bill. You 
may feel that some of its elements should 
be changed or limitations made, and, of 
course, that is open to your considera- 
tion." 

Others who appeared in favor of the 
commission were: Judge Albert D. Bos- 
som, Ex-Mayor Carter, Ex-Mayor Mitch- 
ell, A. B. Atwood, Rev. R. Perry Bush, 
Hon. James Gould, William Martin, Hon. 
H. W. Pratt, Walter C. Mitchell, Ex- 
Mayor Strahan, Benjamin F. Dodge, 
Colonel Moses, Councilor Hoag, Charles 
G. Roberts, H. P. Sanborn, Royal S. 
Wentworth, C. Willis Gould, John Dun- 
can, William Prescott, George H. Buck, 
Reinhard E. Bartels, Lorenzo D. Dixon, 
George H. Dunham, Hon. Eugene T. 
Endicott, George B. Guild, Ralph W. E. 
Hopper, Andrew T. Hunnewell, Geo. E. 
Morrill, Herbert L. Slade, Henry H. 
Stickney, Leonard A. Treat, Walter 
Whittelsey, and James S. Wilson. 

The hearing was practically unani- 
mous in favor of the bill as presented. 
144 







Q ^ 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

The next day two other bills were put 
in, not greatly different, and after a 
tiresome delay a combination of the 
three was made up by the Committee 
on Metropolitan and City Affairs and 
put before the Legislature. The bill 
quickly passed the Senate, only to be 
held up in the House, but finally after 
a lengthy debate passed, to the general 
satisfaction of all those who had the 
best interest of Chelsea at heart. 

It is pretty safe to say that any com- 
mission the governor appoints will pro- 
hibit light and flimsy buildings. This 
will tend more than anything else to 
drive out the undesirable citizens. 

This commission will not be preju- 
diced for or against any particular ward, 
neither will the members have any con- 
stituents to care for to the detriment 
of the city. 

Although Chelsea has an attractive 
residential district, which was not de- 
stroyed by the fire, as can readily be 
seen by the illustrations, it never again 
145 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

will be the residential city that it was 
fifty years ago, as the area is too limited 
and the shipping facilities make it too 
valuable for anything but manufacturing 
purposes. 

When the work of dredging, now in 
progress along the water front, is com- 
pleted the city will have a mile of valu- 
able wharf property, which is bound to 
bring more business into the city and 
to increase the valuation. 

The shoe factories, which employ thou- 
sands of people, were just outside the 
burned area, which was fortunate for 
the employees, who lost their homes. 
Most of these people carried some in- 
surance and can rebuild as long as they 
are assured of employment. 

The Chelsea Trust Company proposes 
to erect a fine building entirely for their 
own use. The Chelsea Savings Bank 
has bought additional property, and in 
rebuilding will double the size of its 
former building. 

The city is assured of a hundred and 
146 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

twenty-five thousand dollar Post-office. 
Ex-Mayor Strahan proposes to re- 
build his beautiful home on Bellingham 
Hill. 

The Frost Hospital drew $35,000 in- 
surance, and as much more is assured 
to build a new hospital. 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
will certainly provide Chelsea with a 
fine armory to replace the one destroyed. 

Most of the churches will at once 
start to rebuild; and when the city gets 
its many buildings up, it will not be 
long before many new and desirable 
people will locate in Chelsea. 

An attempt is to be made to get the 
Metropolitan Park Commission to secure 
permission from the United States gov- 
ernment and carry out the plans origi- 
nally made during Mayor Pratt's admin- 
istration for a Marine Park along the 
Mystic River in front of the Naval 
Hospital. 

At that time John D. Long was Sec- 
retary of the Navy and was interested 
147 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

to the extent of visiting Chelsea and 
inspecting the project. It was found, 
however, that the cost of filUng would 
be too great. 

Since then the government has appro- 
priated money to dredge the Mystic 
River, and the only expense would be 
to move the sea wall out several hun- 
dred feet to the low-tide mark. The 
dredging could then be done by the new 
hydraulic system, thus saving carting 
the dirt out to sea to be dumped. 

This improvement would not only 
greatly help Chelsea, but would make 
the hospital grounds and neighborhood 
much healthier. 

The residents of Chelsea are determined 
to drive out the Hebrew junk dealers, 
and the insurance companies are helping 
by canceling all policies on rag shops. 
The people of Chelsea have tolerated 
these undesirable citizens as long as 
they propose to; fir© after fire of incendi- 
ary origin has taken place until there is 
no alternative, — they have got to go. 
148 



THE BURNING OF CHELSEA 

As terrible as the fire was, God saw 
it was for the best, and in a very few 
years the people are going to look at it 
in the same way. The new city which 
is about to spring up will take the place 
that the Chelsea of the sixties held, — 
excelled by none, and better than most. 



THE END 



149 



i?i| 2 1908 





014 014 432 ^ 





